Inter Kashi FC

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Inter Kashi
Full nameInter Kashi Football Club
Nickname(s)Kaashee ke Yoddhas (Warriors of Kashi)
Short nameIKFC
Founded29 June 2023; 16 months ago (2023-06-29)
GroundEkana Football Stadium
Sigra Stadium
Capacity2,000
500
OwnerRDB Group of Companies
ChairmanVinod Dugar
Head coachAntonio Lopez Habas
LeagueI-League
2023–24I-League, 4th of 13
Websitehttps://www.kashi.football/
Current season

Inter Kashi Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The club currently competes in the I-League, the second tier league of the Indian football league system.[1][2] It is the first professional club from the state of Uttar Pradesh to play in a national level league of the country.[3][4]

The club is in collaboration with Spanish club Atlético Madrid and Andorran clubs Inter Escaldes and FC Andorra.[1][5]

History

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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.[6] 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.[7][8] 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.[9]

The club also announced creation of the Atlético de Bharat Academy for the development of grassroots football in the state.[10] 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.[11] English footballer Peter Hartley was the first player signed by the club.[12]

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.[13] Their first win came against Namdhari on 6 November 2023.[14] On 21st November, Inter Kashi played their first I-League home match against Mohammedan in the Ekana Football Stadium in Lucknow.[15]

Club crest and kits

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Crest

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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.[16]

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

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Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Back sponsor Chest sponsor
2023–2024[17] SIX5SIX Cello Uttar Pradesh Tourism RDB Group
Nahar Group
2024–present Hummel UCO Bank

Players

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First-team squad

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As of 06 October 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK India IND Shubham Dhas
8 MF India IND Phijam Vikash Singh
9 FW Spain ESP Mario Barco
10 MF Spain ESP Julen Pérez
11 FW India IND Bidyashagar Singh
12 DF India IND Dettol Moirangthem
14 MF India IND Karthik Panicker
15 FW India IND Sweden Fernandes
16 DF India IND Sandip Mandi
17 FW India IND Edmund Lalrindika
20 MF Serbia SRB Nikola Stojanović
24 DF India IND Kojam Beyong
25 FW India IND Sumeet Passi (vice-captain)
26 DF India IND Deepak Devrani
No. Pos. Nation Player
27 DF India IND Anil Chawan
28 FW India IND Prasanth Mohan
29 GK India IND Arindam Bhattacharya (captain)
31 DF India IND Ashray Bhardwaj
34 FW India IND Harmanpreet Singh
36 MF India IND Asif Khan
44 MF India IND Tomba Singh
79 FW India IND Chirag Bhujel
MF Finland FIN Joni Kauko
DF India IND Narayan Das
DF India IND Sarthak Golui
GK India IND Rakshit Dagar
DF Spain ESP David Humanes
FW Morocco MAR Domi Berlanga

Out on loan

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

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

Staff and management

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Current staff

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Position Name
Head coach Spain Antonio López Habas
Assistant coach Spain Carlos Fonseca
Strength & conditioning coach Spain Alberto Santana

Management

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Position Name
Chairman India Vinod Dugar
Chief Operations Officer India Bhaskar Basu

Records and statistics

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Overview

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Season League Super Cup Durand Cup
League Tier No. of Teams Position
2023-24 I-League II 13 4th Group Stage

League statistics

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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 Spain Mario Barco 12

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Collaboration agreement in the Inter Kashi project". Club Atletico de Madrid. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Inter Kashi eyes Hero I-League entry with strong European backing". The Bridge. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Inter Kashi Launched in Partnership With Three European Clubs, Eye I-League Participation". News18. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Inter Kashi Become Latest Addition To Indian Football, Partner With Famous European Clubs Including Atletico Madrid". English Jagran. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Atletico Madrid re-enter Indian football, partner with RDB Group to form Inter Kashi". Khel Now. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  6. ^ "AIFF invites bids for new clubs to join Hero I-League 2023-24 season onwards". The AIFF. 5 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  7. ^ Mergulhao, Marcus (24 July 2023). "AIFF likely to be left with only two new direct entrants in I-League". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Margao: The Times of India. TNN. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  8. ^ Mukherjee, Sayan (8 August 2023). "With only two new corporate teams, AIFF likely to persist with home-away format for I-League". News9live. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Inter Kashi AMA". Reddit. 7 July 2023. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Club Atlético de Madrid - Collaboration agreement in the Inter Kashi project". Club Atlético de Madrid. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  11. ^ Das, Shibashis (4 August 2023). "Arata Izumi becomes the assistant coach of the new entity, Inter Kashi Football Club". footballexpress.in. Archived from the original on 14 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  12. ^ "We have kept you waiting long enough presenting our FIRST SIGNING — @PeterHartley88!". Inter Kashi Twitter. 1 August 2023. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  13. ^ "I-League 2023-24: Inter Kashi bag first points against heavyweights Gokulam Kerala". Khel Now. 28 October 2023. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  14. ^ "I-League 2023-24: Inter Kashi secures historic win, Overcoming Namdhari FC 4-2". The Bridge. 6 November 2023. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  15. ^ "Inter Kashi face Mohammedan SC today". The Times of India. 21 November 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  16. ^ The SportsGrail (30 June 2023). "Inter Kashi FC owner, logo, jersey, players, football stadium, coach". The SportsGrail. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  17. ^ Saha, Rahul (3 November 2023). "I-league Commercial Guide: A Complete List of the 2023/24 I-League Team Sponsors". sportskhabri.com. Sports Khabri. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
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