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Inter Kashi

Full name	Inter Kashi Football Club
Nickname(s)	Kaashee ke Yoddhas (Warriors of Kashi)
Short name	IKFC
Founded	29 June 2023; 18 months ago (2023-06-29)
Ground	Ekana Football Stadium Sigra Stadium Naihati Stadium Kalyani Stadium
Capacity	2,000 500 25,000 20,000
Owner	RDB Group of Companies
Chairman	Vinod Dugar
Head coach	Antonio López Habas
League	I-League
2023–24	I-League, 4th of 13
Website	kashi.football
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Inter Kashi Football Club is a professional football club based in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The club currently competes in the I-League, the second tier league of the Indian football league system. It is the first professional club from the state of Uttar Pradesh to play in a national level league of the country. The club is in collaboration with Spanish club Atlético Madrid and Andorran clubs Inter Escaldes and FC Andorra.

History

In May 2023, the All India Football Federation, the governing body of football in India, announced they would accept bids for new clubs to join 2023–24 I-League season onwards. On 29 June 2023, it was announced that agreement for the Varanasi franchise had been reached between Kolkata-based RDB Group of Companies and European clubs Atlético Madrid and Inter Escaldes. FC Andorra has an association with Inter Escaldes, but does not have any direct role with Inter Kashi. The moniker of "Inter" was added because of the tie up with Inter Escaldes.

The club also announced creation of the Atlético de Bharat Academy for the development of grassroots football in the state. Spaniard Carlos Santamarina was chosen as the first head coach of the club, while Javier Broch and Arata Izumi were roped in as assistant coach. English footballer Peter Hartley was the first player signed by the club.

On 28 October 2023, Inter Kashi played their first ever official match against Gokulam Kerala in the I-League. Edmund Lalrindika scored the club's first goal, and Mohammed Asif Khan scored the equalizer to earn the maiden point in a 2–2 draw. Their first win came against Namdhari on 6 November 2023. On 21st November, Inter Kashi played their first I-League home match against Mohammedan in the Ekana Football Stadium in Lucknow. In October 2024, Inter Kashi's two players Sachu Siby and Harmanpreet Singh joined Primera Divisió outfit Inter Escaldes.

Club crest and kits

Crest

In the Inter Kashi's crest, Tripundra (three horizontal lines on the top of the crest) resembles Lord Shiva's threefold power of will (icchāśakti), knowledge (jñānaśakti), and action (kriyāśakti). The graphical image below the club name on the crest portraits Manikarnika Ghat.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Players

First-team squad

As of 1 November 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  IND Shubham Dhas 2 MF  IND Mohammed Asif Khan 3 DF  IND Aritra Das 4 DF  ESP David Humanes 6 MF  ESP Julen Pérez 7 MF  FIN Joni Kauko 8 MF  IND Phijam Vikash Singh 9 FW  ESP Mario Barco 10 FW  IND Edmund Lalrindika 11 FW  IND Bidyashagar Singh 12 GK  IND Rakshit Dagar 13 GK  IND Sharon Padattil 14 MF  IND Karthik Panicker 15 MF  IND Sweden Fernandes

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 DF  IND Sandip Mandi 17 DF  IND Anil Chawan 19 FW  IND Chirag Bhujel 18 MF  IND Tomba Singh 20 MF  SRB Nikola Stojanović 21 DF  IND Narayan Das 22 DF  IND Ashray Bhardwaj 23 DF  IND Sarthak Golui 24 DF  IND Kojam Beyong 25 FW  IND Sumeet Passi (captain) 26 DF  IND Deepak Devrani 27 FW  MAR Domi Berlanga 28 FW  IND Prasanth Mohan 29 GK  IND Arindam Bhattacharya

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  IND Sachu Siby (at Inter Club d'Escaldes until 31 May 2025) — FW  IND Harmanpreet Singh (at Inter Club d'Escaldes until 31 May 2025)

Staff and management

Current staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Antonio Lopez Habas
Assistant coach	Carlos Fonseca
	Arata Izumi
Strength & conditioning coach	Alberto Santana
Goalkeeping coach	Fernando Llopis
	Luis García
Player Care Manager	Abdeali Fatema Deesawala
Media Manager	Bhaswar Dey

Management

Position	Name
Chairman	Vinod Dugar
Chief Operations Officer	Bhaskar Basu

Managerial history

Head coach's record

As of 19 December 2024

Name	Nationality	From	To	P	W	D	L	Win%	Ref.
Carlos Santamarina	Spain	7 July 2023	31 May 2024	26	10	9	7	38.46%
Antonio López	Spain	5 July 2024	Present	6	3	2	1	50.00%
Arata Izumi	India	27 July 2024	31 August 2024	3	1	1	1	33.33%

Club captains

Period	Name
2023–2024	Arindam Bhattacharya
2024–2025	Sumeet Passi

Records and statistics

Overview

League statistics

-	Season	Division								Top scorer
Division		Position	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Player	Goals
2023–24	I-League	4th	24	11	8	5	47	41	Mario Barco	12

Top scorers

As of 12:09 (IST), 20 December 2024

Notable players

The following Inter Kashi players have been capped at senior/youth international level. Years in brackets indicate their spells at the club.

• Sehnaj Singh (2023)
• Fran Gómez (2023-2024)
• Jackichand Singh (2023-2024)
• Deepak Devrani (2023-2024)
• Lalruatthara (2023-2024)
• Sandip Mandi (2023-)
• Arindam Bhattacharya (2023-)
• Edmund Lalrindika (2023-)
• Sumeet Passi (2023-)
• Gianni dos Santos (2024)
• Harmanpreet Singh (2024)
• Joni Kauko (2024-)
• Narayan Das (2024-)
• Sarthak Golui (2024-)

Associated clubs

The following clubs are associated with Inter Kashi:

• Atlético Madrid
• Inter Club d'Escaldes
• FC Andorra

See also

• India
• Association football

• List of football clubs in India

References

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External links

• India
• Association football

• Inter Kashi FC on Facebook
• Inter Kashi FC on Instagram
• Inter Kashi FC on Twitter
• Inter Kashi at Global Sports Archive

• Inter Kashi FC
• I-League clubs
• Association football clubs established in 2023
• 2023 establishments in India