The Kerala Premier league has been an outstanding platform for the football fanatic state of Kerala. Now it has matured to its 7th seasons from its inception and the local clubs are looking forward to being a part of this wonderful league. With a plethora of local talents, KPL is surely nurturing Football stars of the future.
LUCA Soccer Club, located in Mallapuram, are the newest entrants of the KPL. Speaking of the stats, Luca SC ended their campaign on the third spot trailing behind Gokulam Kerala and Kerala Blasters FC respectively. Out of their eight matches, they won two and drew four games in their maiden season in the KPL. They have surely made their mark in the top tier league of Kerala by Scoring 11 goals throughout the season. Our folks at IFTWC were privileged enough to get in talks with the Founder and Director of the club, Mr. NAVAS.
Q) Please tell us about LUCA SC? When was the club founded? Who are the people involved in it?
Mr. Navas – “This is our third year. When it was started i was the only investor now i got a partner who is in UAE his name is Mr Mustafa Kamal. He is a YouTuber. Mr. Mustafa has a 20% share in it.”
After this season we are looking forward to play in Second Division League within 3 years.
Navas KV
Where is the home ground? Are you relocating in future?
“For this season we will be playing in the Kottapadi Football Stadium, Malappuram. It’s located in the heart of Malappuram. We are thinking to play in our own ground in the future.”
There was a rumour that the club was named after from Former Italian International Lucas Toni. Is that true?
“Yes, It’s true that the club is named after Luca Toni. I am a die-hard Italian Nation team fan. I started following football because of the Italian National team. In my school days, Luca Toni was a great goal scorer for Italy. I was a big fan of him then my friends started calling me Luca. Then I consider it as my nickname. when I started the sports business the name was Luca Sports. After that, I added that name to my football academy and now it finally Luca SC.”
Please tell us about the current squad? Are there any foreigners in the squad?
“Now we have only 1 foreigner in our team. He is from Ivory Coast and his name is Amodu Koli Bali.”
Who is the head coach and what licence does he hold?
“Our technical director is Georgy Gondgace from Georgia. he is a UEFA B license holder. I myself have a D-License. I am working as an assistant coach of the senior team.”
How is the response from the public?
“After we announced that the senior team will be playing in the KPL, a lot of people became very happy because Malappuram is a football crazy place. We don’t have professional clubs from Malappuram. The Only club is SAT FC, which is located in Tirur which is far from central Malappuram.”
Are there any Youth Teams and are they expected to play in AIFF/KFA Youth Leagues?
We have U12, U14, U16, U18 teams training from Monday to Saturday, residential & non-residential batches. We also have 4 centres for grassroots development from age 5 to 11 categories for players from different areas in Malappuram. We have also opened 5 centres for holiday (Saturday & Sunday) batches. Around 120 kids are training there with us. It’s an open age training program. It is designed for kids who can’t train regularly.
What are the main objectives of the club? What Short term & long term plan of the club?
Our aim was to play in KPL within 3 to 4 years but we managed to achieve it within 2 years. Our long term objective is to be a professional club like the clubs in Europe and to play in Indian Super League and it would be a big boost for Malappuram football.
Do you think Kerala need more clubs? Especially in the districts without clubs?
Kerala needs more professional teams. we have a lot of departmental teams but most of them aren’t working well. We need more professional clubs like SAT Tirur and LUCA SC. These clubs will give more local talents.
Is there any sponsorship for LUCA SC?
We don’t have any sponsorship now but we are looking forward to finding good sponsorships and it will be a big boost for the club.
As the Indian football roadmap became clearer now, When can we expect LUCA SC playing in Second division?
We are looking forward to play in Second Division League within 3 years after this season.
We wish the best for LUCA SC, the Management, the Support staff, the Players and the fans for the upcoming seasons!