Kerala Blasters Army - The Name to note

When talking about Kerala Blasters FC fans, the first name which comes to our mind is Manjappada. But there is another club which is equally active and also consists of a strong fan base - Kerala Blasters Army. 

Kerala Blasters Army is one among the few ISL fans clubs which is registered under government rules in India and are also the first and only government registered fans club of KBFC till now. The govt registration makes them eligible to be a fans club rather than being a fans group, which makes them stand out. If you're a die heart KBFC fan who support the team at the stadium, then you might be familiar with this fan club and their activities. Regardless of all these facts unluckily, Kerala Blasters Army is a name which remains unrevealed to many supporting fans of other ISL clubs so far. So, let's look onto a deep insight into this club and their fan culture.

Kerala Blasters Army was founded in 2014 with the vision of supporting the home team and to uplift the football culture in Kerala. The club started it's stadium activities in the second season of ISL and coordinates the west gallery of the Kaloor Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi which is exquisitely known as the "Army Stand" till now. The club started with just 27 football fans in 2014 and now they have grown to have a state committee, 14 district committee's, executive panels and even overseas groups. They also maintain a strong relationship with the management and players and are also invited to all the official programmes conducted by KBFC.

The major reason why Kerala Blasters Army and their stadium activities remain undisclosed to many is due to the less camera coverage towards the West gallery of the stadium. The West gallery lies adjacent to the media box and out of the main 7-9 camera's, only one covers the visuals of the West gallery and at the meantime all the other three faces the other parts of the gallery

At several occasions, many legends including the Captain Sunil Chhetri honoured Kerala Blasters FC's home stadium as the loudest and packed stadium in the country and this wouldn't be technically possible without the contributions of Kerala Blasters Army. Without them coordinating in the West gallery, the stadium activities would have been limited to a single gallery alone.

Through these years, Kerala Blasters Army remained strictly on their motto being the "Fan's Voice", and they were always there to support the club. They backed the management at tough times and even didn't hesitate to question them in some of their policies; like how an ideal fan club is supposed to function. Their activities were not just limited to supporting KBFC alone. They at times conducted Football coaching camps for grooming football talents in the state. Being a responsible fan club, they have done their part every so often in charity related works also.

Kerala Blasters Army maintains a strong relationship with EBRPF - the registered fans club of SC East Bengal and they even welcomed them on their ISL entry this season. The bond between these two fan groups can help in setting a strong influence for bringing the footballing culture of both the states close together in the near future.

When most of the other fan groups remained inactive during the off-season they initiated many programmes for the fans. They conducted LIVE session's through their social media's under the hosting of famous ISL commentator Shaiju Damodaran with fan-favourite players like Nishu Kumar, Albino Gomes, Mohammed Rafi, Josu Currias, Rohit Kumar and so on. Amidst the pandemic, when all were struck in their homes they even initiated a 90 days fitness programme under the guidance of famous Fitness Educationalist Joby Michael which includes free guidance and diet plan for keeping the fans healthy and fit. The challenge started on September 25th having massive participation of people from all corners of the state and at present, the challenge is still running successfully.

Fan culture is an integral part of every football club and Kerala Blasters FC is doing their part in uplifting the fan culture of the state and they even come up with the term "The 12th Man" to represent the Manjappada, Kerala Blasters Army and all the supporters of #Yellow collectively under one belt. The time when the Kerala Blasters Army makes their presence known through their fan culture in front of the whole nation seems not too far away.