Kashmir has seen the emergence of new football clubs in the past few years. With no shortage of talented football players in the valley, these clubs have made huge strides in a very short period. This led to an exciting phase in the history of football in Kashmir with the clubs joining the premier football leagues of India.
Let us take a look at Kashmir football teams in the I-League.
1. Real Kashmir FC
Real Kashmir was founded in 2014 by Sandeep Chattoo, however, it wasn’t until 2016 that Real Kashmir was officially recognized by AIFF. After its recognition, the club started participating in various national and local level tournaments.
The arrival of Scottish coach David Robertson proved to be a major scalp for the club. Robertson’s efforts helped Real Kashmir play four friendly matches in Scotland thereby becoming the first football club from the valley to play on foreign soil.
The Snow Leapords participated in the 2nd division of the I-League in the 2016-17 season. Despite a below-par first season, they did show glimpses of good work that Robertson had done at the club. After recruiting a few known talents from around the world, Real Kashmir earned a promotion to the I-League by winning the 2017-18 second division.
In the preseason of 2018, Real Kashmir traveled to Dortmund. They were invited into the training centers of Borussia Dortmund Football Club and paid a visit to Signal Iduna Park.
In their first season in the I League, Real Kashmir finished a respectable third and reached the Round of 16 stage of the Super Cup. The Covid-affected 2019-20 season saw them reach the semifinal stage of the Durand Cup.
The arrival of local heroes like Danish Farooq Bhat, Adnan Ayoub, and Farhan Ganie took the fandom of the club to new heights. In the 2023-24 season, the Snow Leopards finished fifth in the standings with 40 points from their 24 games.
The current club coach Ishfaq Ahmad continues to emphasize promoting young local footballers and remains optimistic about gaining promotion to ISL.
The club currently plays its home matches at TRC Ground in Srinagar which has an approximate capacity of 11,000. The club is planning to move to Bakshi Stadium after its renovation is complete.
2. Lonestar Kashmir FC
Lonestar Kashmir FC is a Srinagar-based football club that was founded in 2013 by Iftikhar Ahmed Lone. The club shares its home ground, TRC turf with Real Kashmir FC. The club got its name after a sponsorship deal with LoneStar Group.
Lonestar FC was one of the first valley-based clubs to promote football from the grassroots level. After its recognition by AIFF, it became the first club from Kashmir to participate in the I-League 2nd division. In 2015, they finished in second position in the I-League table underlining the huge steps the club had taken in a short span of time.
However, they were not able to replicate the same in the following season as they finished bottom in the final round of the group stage in the 2015-16 season.
In the next few years, LKFC participated in a few local and National level tournaments with Mozin Shah as their star player. In the 2020 season, the club joined the JKFA Professional League with Kashmir Observer as their media partner. LKFC still competes in the JKFA Professional League and continues to take steps in the right direction.
Despite not being as successful as the Real Kashmir FC, Lonestar Kashmir FC has nourished some of the talented footballers from Kashmir Valley. Players like Muhammad Hammad, who was recently signed by FC Goa, started his football journey with Lonestar FC and developed as one of the best defenders of Kashmir.
Another star player, Danish Farooq also developed under the watchful eyes of Lonestar FC’s coaching staff. He was a part of the RKFC 2015 I-League second division runner-up team and has turned himself into a National treasure since. Farooq ended up playing for Real Kashmir FC, and Bengaluru FC, and currently is a part of Kerala Blasters FC.
Read More: International football players from Kashmir
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
