Lonestar FC and Real Kashmir are the two premier football clubs from Kashmir. Both teams were founded in the last decade and have helped to revolutionize modern football in the valley.
Lonestar Kashmir FC is a Srinagar-based football club that was founded in 2013 by Iftikhar Ahmed Lone. The club got its name after a sponsorship deal with LoneStar Group. It was one of the first clubs from the valley to promote football for all age groups. It also became the first club from Kashmir to participate in the I-League 2nd division.
Real Kashmir was founded in 2014 by Sandeep Chattoo and was recognized in 2014 by AIFF. Like Lonestar Kashmir FC, the Snow Leapords also participated in the I-League 2nd division, and in the 2nd season, they earned the promotion to I-League by winning the 2nd division.
Ironically, both clubs play their home games at the same venue at TRC Synthetic Turf.
The two city rivals have crossed paths twice in their short history. Both the games came in the I-League 2nd division preliminary round.
In the first match, Ritwik Kumar Das and Ifham Tariq Mir scored two goals for Real Kashmir in the first half to take command of the game. Lonestar did manage to pull one back Javed Ahmad’s glorious finish but the RKFC defense held strong in the closing stages to earn them a 2-1 win over their city rivals.
The second game took place on 26 April 2018. Danish Farooq broke the deadlock in the 35th minute to give RKFC the lead. Aaqib equalized for Lonestar just before the end of the first half to level the scores 1-1. Real Kashmir FC took the lead courtesy beautifully placed header by Atinder Mani. Despite Lonestar’s late rally, Real Kashmir held on to a 2-1 win.
Real Kashmir went on to win the I-League 2nd division resulting in promotion to the I-League. 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 current club coach Ishfaq Ahmad continues to emphasize promoting young local footballers and remains optimistic about gaining promotion to ISL.
Lonestar Kashmir FC, on the other hand, currently participates in the JKFA Professional League, the fifth tier in the Indian football league system. Despite not being as successful as the Real Kashmir FC, Lonestar Kashmir FC has nourished some of the talented footballers from Kashmir Valley and continues to take steps in the right direction in their bid to return to the premier Indian football competition, I-League.
Read More: Kashmir Football Teams in the I-League
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.
