Template:Infobox football club season
The 2023–24 season will be the tenth season in Kerala Blasters FC's existence, as well as their tenth season in the Indian Super League.
During this season, Blasters ended their 6 year association with their most-capped player and their Indian midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad.[1]
Kits
Note: Official kits for the new season are yet to be announced.
Background
Kerala Blasters came into the 2023–24 season after a dramatic 2022–23 season.[2] The club came into the 2022–23 season after becoming the runner-ups of the 2021–22 IndIan Super League season, but failed to register any trophies to their name at the end of the season.[3] The season began with the Blasters sending their youth squad as their first team to the Durand Cup who was knocked out in the quarter-finals.[4][5] This particular season was remarked by the Blasters' walk-off from the league's knockout stage match against their arch-rivals Bengaluru FC following their disagreement on the free-kick goal scored by Sunil Chhetri during the extra-time.[6] The Blasters were eventually disqualified from the league's knockout stages,[7] and were penalized by the All India Football Federation as a result of their walk-off.[8] They ended their 2022–23 campaign with the group stage disqualification from the 2023 Indian Super Cup tournament, in which they failed to qualify for the knockout stages as a result of ending up third in the group stage.[9]
Pre-season overview
April
On 18 April 2023, the Blasters announced that they have mutually parted ways with their assistant coach Ishfaq Ahmed.[10][11]
On 24 April, the Blasters announced their squad for the Reliance Foundation Development League's national phase.[12]
May
On 4 May, the Blasters announced that they have extended the contract of the Greek striker Dimitrios Diamantakos till the end of the 2023–24 season.[13][14]
On 9 May, the Blasters announced the contract extension of youngsters Muhammad Saheef, Mohammed Azhar and Mohammed Aimen until 2026.[15][16]
On 12 May, the Blasters announced the contract extension of the Indian midfielder Nihal Sudeesh till 2026 on a three-year contract.[17][18]
On 16 May, the Blasters announced the signing of the Australian winger Jaushua Sotirio on a two-year deal after reaching an agreement with Newcastle Jets FC for an undisclosed transfer fee.[19][20]
On 18 May, the Blasters announced that they have been granted ICLS Premier 1 license by the All India Football Federation.[21][22]
On 19 May, the Blasters announced the contract extension of assistant coach Frank Dauwen till 2025.[23][24]
On 21 May, the Blasters announced the contract extension of the Indian defender Hormipam Ruivah till 2027 on a four-year long-term contract.[25][26]
On 30 May, the Blasters announced the departure of their club captain, Jessel Carneiro after four years with the club.[27]
On 31 May, the Blasters announced the departures of Víctor Mongil, Apostolos Giannou, Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, Harmanjot Khabra and Muheet Shabir from the club as their contracts ended on the same day.[28][29]
June
On 1 June, the Blasters announced the signing of the Indian right-back Prabir Das till 2026 on a three-year deal from their rivals Bengaluru FC.[30][31]
On 2 June, the All India Football Federation's Appeal Committee rejected the Blasters' and their coach Ivan Vukomanović's appeal against their Indian rupees four crore's fine for abandonment of the last season's league knockout stage match against Bengaluru,[32] and rejected Vukumanovic's appeal against the fine of Indian rupees five lakhs and 10-game ban imposed by the All India Football Federation's Disciplinary committee for calling the players off from the pitch amidst the game.[33]
On 6 June, the Blasters announced that they have temporarily shut down their women's team after the men's side were fined by AIFF for their walk-off from the playoff match last season.[34][35]
On 13 June, the Blasters announced the departure of their Indian left-back Denechandra Meitei after spending three years at the club.[36]
On 14 June, the Blasters announced the loan departure of their Indian wing-back Nishu Kumar to East Bengal Club for the upcoming season.[37][38]
On 16 June, the Blasters announced the one-year contract extension of their Indian goalkeeper Karanjit Singh till 2024.[39][40]
On 22 June, the Blasters was ranked 70th in the CIES Football Observatory's weekly post of top 100 clubs in world with most social media followers, with the Blasters being the only club from India being featured in the list with 6.7 million followers across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by the time of the release of the rankings.[41][42]
On 24 June, it was announced that the Blasters have took the appeal of the AIFF's sanctions on them as a result of their walk-off in the last season's knockout stage match against Bengaluru to the Court of Arbitration for Sport based in Switzerland.[43][44]
On 26 June, the Blasters announced the signing of the Indian winger Bikash Singh Sagolsem till 2025 on a two year contract with an option to extend, and was subsequently sent on loan to Mohammedan SC for the upcoming season.[45]
July
On 1 July, the Blasters announced that their Indian midfielder Vibin Mohanan would travel to Greece for a one-month training stint with the Super League Greece club OFI Crete FC ahead of the season.[46][47]
On 10 July, the Blasters appointed T. G. Purushothaman as their new first-team assistant head coach ahead of new season on a three-year contract till 2026.[48][49]
On 11 July, the Blasters announced that the player arrivals for the pre-season camp of new season had begun in Kochi from 10 July 2023.[50][51]
On 12 July, the Blasters announced the departure of their first-choice goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill to East Bengal Club for an undisclosed transfer fee.[52][53]
On 13 July, the Blasters announced the loan signing of the Indian left-back Naocha Singh from Mumbai City FC until the end of the season.[54][55]
On 14 July, the Blasters announced the departure of their most-capped player and their Indian midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad to Mohun Bagan Super Giant, who bought the latter for an undisclosed transfer fee in a swap deal with the Blasters acquiring the services of the Indian right-back Pritam Kotal from Mohun Bagan Super Giant on a three-year deal.[56][57]
On 14 July, the Blasters announced that the Nigerian forward Justine Ojoka Emmanuel has joined their pre-season camp on a trial.[58][59]
On 16 July, the Blasters announced that their Uruguayan midfielder Adrián Luna as their new number 10 ahead of the upcoming season.[60][61]
On 17 July, the Blasters announced the contract extension of their Indian goalkeeper Sachin Suresh till 2026 on a three-year contract.[62][63]
On 19 July, the Blasters provided a statement on the ankle injury sustained by their Australian winger Jaushua Sotirio during the training session in their pre-season camp and ruled him out of action till 2024 depending upon on the degree of the injury.[64][65]
On 20 July, the Blasters announced the departure of their Indian central midfielder Ayush Adhikari after reaching an agreement with an unknown club for an undisclosed transfer fee.[66]
Players
Transfers
Transfers In
| Template:H:title | Player | No. | Position | Template:Abbr | Template:Abbr | Template:H:title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 May 2023 | Template:Flagicon Jaushua Sotirio | – | RW/LW/CF | Template:Flagicon Newcastle Jets FC | Undisclosed fee | [68] |
| 1 June 2023 | Template:Flagicon Prabir Das | – | RB | Template:Flagicon Bengaluru FC | Free transfer | [69] |
| 26 June 2023 | Template:Flagicon Sagolsem Bikash Singh | – | LW | Template:Flagicon TRAU FC | Free transfer | [45] |
| 13 July 2023 | Template:Flagicon Naocha Singh | – | LB | Template:Flagicon Mumbai City FC | Loan transfer | [70] |
| 14 July 2023 | Template:Flagicon Pritam Kotal | – | CB/RB | Template:Flagicon Mohun Bagan Super Giant | Swap deal with Sahal Abdul Samad | [71] |
Loan Returns
| Player | No. | Position | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagicon Denechandra Meitei | 19 | LB | Template:Flagicon Odisha FC |
| Template:Flagicon Givson Singh | 11 | CM | Template:Flagicon Chennaiyin FC |
Promoted from Kerala Blasters FC Reserves
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position(s) | Date of Birth (Age) | Template:H:title |
|---|
Note: The club is yet to announce their squad for the season.
Contract Extensions
| No. | Position | Player | Contract Till | Template:H:title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | ST | Template:Flagicon Dimitrios Diamantakos | 2024 | [72] |
| 2 | CB | Template:Flagicon Muhammad Saheef | 2026 | [16] |
| 32 | CM | Template:Flagicon Mohammed Azhar | 2026 | |
| 19 | CF/LW | Template:Flagicon Mohammed Aimen | 2026 | |
| 28 | RW | Template:Flagicon Nihal Sudeesh | 2026 | [73] |
| 4 | CB | Template:Flagicon Hormipam Ruivah | 2027 | [26] |
| 1 | GK | Template:Flagicon Karanjit Singh | 2024 | [74] |
| 31 | GK | Template:Flagicon Sachin Suresh | 2026 | [75] |
Loan Outs
| No. | Position | Player | To | Template:H:title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | RB/LB | Template:Flagicon Nishu Kumar | Template:Flagicon East Bengal Club | [76] |
| – | LW | Template:Flagicon Sagolsem Bikash Singh | Template:Flagicon Mohammedan SC | [45] |
Transfers Out
| Template:Abbr | Player | No. | Position | To | Template:Abbr | Template:H:title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 May 2023 | Template:Flagicon Jessel Carneiro | 14 | LB | TBC | Contract expired | [27] |
| 31 May 2023 | Template:Flagicon Víctor Mongil | 23 | CB/CDM | TBC | Contract expired | [28] |
| 31 May 2023 | Template:Flagicon Apostolos Giannou | 99 | ST | TBC | Contract expired | |
| 31 May 2023 | Template:Flagicon Ivan Kalyuzhnyi | 77 | CM | Template:Flagicon FC Oleksandriya | End of loan term | |
| 31 May 2023 | Template:Flagicon Harmanjot Khabra | 10 | RB/CM | Template:Flagicon East Bengal Club | Free transfer | |
| 31 May 2023 | Template:Flagicon Muheet Shabir | 78 | GK | TBC | Contract expired | |
| 13 June 2023 | Template:Flagicon Denechandra Meitei | 19 | LB | TBC | Contract Termination | [36] |
| 12 July 2023 | Template:Flagicon Prabhsukhan Gill | 13 | GK | Template:Flagicon East Bengal Club | Undisclosed fee | [77] |
| 14 July 2023 | Template:Flagicon Sahal Abdul Samad | 18 | CM/AM | Template:Flagicon Mohun Bagan Super Giant | Undisclosed fee + Pritam Kotal | [78] |
| 20 July 2023 | Template:Flagicon Ayush Adhikari | 8 | CM | TBC | Undisclosed fee | [79] |
Management
| Role | Name | Template:H:title |
|---|---|---|
| Head Coach/Manager | Template:Flagicon Ivan Vukomanović | [80] |
| Assistant Coach | Template:Flagicon Frank Dauwen | [81] |
| Template:Flagicon T. G. Purushothaman | [82] | |
| Strength and Conditioning Coach | Template:Flagicon Werner Martens | [83] |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Template:Flagicon Slaven Progovecki | [84] |
| Academy & Women's Team Director | Template:Flagicon Rajah Rizwan | [85] |
Pre-season and friendlies
Note: Kerala Blasters are yet to announce their pre-season plans and friendlies for the season.
Competitions
Overview
Template:Legend2 Template:Legend2 Template:Legend2 Template:Fb overview2
Durand Cup
Template:MainKerala Blasters were drawn in the Group C for the 132nd edition of the Durand Cup alongside their arch-rivals Bengaluru FC.[86]
Group stage
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Matches
Note: Fixtures are yet to be announced.
Indian Super League
League table
Results summary
Template:Fb rs Template:Fb rs footer
League results by round
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Matches
Note: Fixtures are yet to be announced.
Indian Super Cup
Group stage
Note: To be determined.
Matches
Note: Fixtures are yet to be announced.
Statistics
All stats are correct as of 20 July 2023
Squad appearances and goals
Template:Efs start |- !colspan=16 style="background:#FFFF00; color:#1047AB;"| Goalkeepers Template:Efs player Template:Efs player |- !colspan=16 style="background:#1047AB; color:#FFFF00;"| Defenders Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player |- !colspan=16 style="background:#FFFF00; color:#1047AB;"| Midfielders Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player |- !colspan=16 style="background:#1047AB; color:#FFFF00;"| Forwards Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player Template:Efs player
|}
Squad statistics
| Factors | Template:Colored link | Template:Colored link | Template:Colored link | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Games Won | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Games Drawn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Games Lost | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goals Scored | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goals Conceded | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goal Difference | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clean Sheets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goals by Substitutes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yellow Cards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goalscorers
| Rank | Nation | Name | No. | Pos. | League | Super Cup | Durand Cup | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | ||||||||
Assist
| Rank | Nation | Name | No. | Pos. | League | Super Cup | Durand Cup | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | ||||||||
Clean-sheets
| Rank | Nation | Name | No. | League | Super Cup | Durand Cup | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | |||||||