Mumbai Kenkre FC
Mumbai Kenkre FC (also known as Kenkre Football Club) is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra.[2][3][4] Founded in 2000, the club competes in MFA Elite Division of Mumbai Football League, and previously participated in I-League.[5][6] They were relgated into I League 2 at the end of 2022–23 I-League.
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Full name | Mumbai Kenkre Football Club | |||
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Nickname(s) | Mumbaikars | |||
Founded | 2000[1] | |||
Ground | Cooperage Ground | |||
Capacity | 5,000 | |||
Owner | Adib Krishna Sinai Kenkre | |||
Head coach | Akhil Kothari | |||
League | I-League MFA Elite Division | |||
2022–23 | I-League, 11th of 12 (relegated) | |||
Website | Club website | |||
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Departments of Kenkre FC | |
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Football (Men's) | Football (Women's) |
History
Formation and journey
The club was founded in 2000 as Kenkre Academy FC,[7] under the patronage of former footballer and coach Adib Kenkre, and CEO Joshua Lewis.[8]
Kenkre FC were crowned champions of the Maha Football League in 2010 for the first time in the club's history, after defeating Bengal Mumbai FC 3–0, thanks to goals from Nigerian striker Mathew Odje, Francisco Salin and Charanjeet Singh.[9] After achieving this result, Kenkre FC were granted admission into the I-League 2nd Division, then second-tier of Indian football.[10]
In March 2013, ahead of the I-League Second Division kickoff, Kenkre roped in Portuguese manager Jose Luis Lopes Da Costa as head coach and brought three of their first foreigners, Portuguese Rodilson Felisberto Fernandes Dias, Domingo De Jesus Gomes, Bruno Daniel Alciaes, and Australian Daniel Atkins.[11]
2020–present
In December 2021, the AIFF club licensing committee has unanimously decided to not grant the exemption sought by former I-League champion Chennai City FC, after having failed to receive the ICLS licence.[12] As a result, Kenkre replaced them in the 2021–22 I-League.[13][14][15] In June 2021, Akhil Kothari, India's youngest AFC A license holder, as new head coach of Kenkre.[16] The club began their league journey on 4 March 2022 against Real Kashmir with earning a historic point in the 1–1 draw.[17] Kenkre finished bottom after the phrase 1 and was placed in relegation stage. They achieved 12 points and got relegated to the 2022–23 I-League 2nd Division.[18][19][20]
After being relegated at the end of the season, Kenkre was reinstated on sympathetic grounds and allowed to participate in the 2022–23 I-League season.[21][22] The club later participated in Baji Raut Cup in Odisha,[23] in which they reached semi-finals.[24]
After struggling since beginning of the 2022–23 league season, Kenkre along with Sudeva Delhi, relegated from I-League.[25][26][27][28]
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
---|---|---|
2021–present | Hummel[29] | Kenkre Sports Foundation |
Stadium

Cooperage Ground in Nariman Point, Mumbai, is the home ground of Kenkre.[30] It has artificial turf and has a seating capacity of 5,000.[31][32] The club qualified for the I-League in 2021,[33] but due to COVID-19 pandemic in India, league format was shortened and matches were played in few centralised venues.[34] As the league came back with home-away format, Kenkre played its first home match at the Cooperage Ground against Churchill Brothers on 24 November 2022.[34]
Players
First-team squad
- As of 26 December 2022
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Personnel
Current technical staff
- As of 22 December 2022
Role | Name | |
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Head Coach | ![]() |
[16] |
Assistant coach | ![]() | |
Assistant coach | ![]() | |
Team Manager | ![]() | |
Team Doctor | ![]() | |
Kit Manager | ![]() |
Management
As of December 2022
President | ![]() |
Chief Executive Officer | ![]() |
Team Photographer | ![]() |
Operations & Accreditions | ![]() |
Logistics | ![]() |
Head coaching record
- As of 14 November 2022
Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
José Luís Lopes Costa | ![]() |
2015[11] | 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Soibam Ekendra Singh | ![]() |
2015[35] | 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Akhil Kothari | ![]() |
1 June 2021[36] | present | 33 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 30 | 24.24 |
Honours
League
- I-League 2nd Division
- MFA Elite Division
- Champions (1): 2010
- Runners-up (1): 2019–20[38]
Cup
- Nadkarni Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2009[39]
Notable players
Past and present internationals
- The player(s) below had senior/youth international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players with listed names represented their countries before or after playing for Kenkre FC.[40]
Orok Essien (2011–2012)[41][42]
Young Chimodzi Jr. (2014–2015)[43]
Boubacar Keita (2011–2013)[44][45]
Tenzin Samdup (2021–)[nb 1][46]
Anjan Bista (2023)[47]
Other departments
Women's section
Kenkre has its women's team which plays in the Indian Women's League, the top flight of Women's football league system organised by the All India Football Federation.[48][49] They also participate in WIFA Women's Football League.[50][51]
Honours
- WIFA Women's Football League
- Champions (1): 2019–20[52]
Youth (men's)
Since the inception of Kenkre, the club kept focus on nurturing youth talents and running academies.[33][53] In Mumbai, the club built and runs eight academies with more than a thousand kids enrolled before the Covid-19 pandemic in India.[33] Club's U17 team, which was managed by both Floyd Pinto and Akhil Kothari, previously participated in MSSA (Mumbai Schools Sports Association) tournaments.[54]
Club's U-19 team participated in Maharashtra zone of 2014 I-League U19.[55] The U17 team later took part in group stages of 2022–23 U-17 Youth Cup.[56][57] The U19 team also participates in MDFA Super Division League.[58][59]
Notes
- ^ Represented Tibet national football team in CONIFA tournaments internationally.
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Further reading
Bibliography
- Sharma, Nikhil Paramjit; Gupta, Shantanu (4 February 2019). India's Football Dream. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 9789353283063. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- Shreekumar, S. S. (15 August 2020). THE BEST WAY FORWARD FOR INDIA'S FOOTBALL. HSRA Publications. ISBN 9788194721697. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
Others
- Yadav, Siddharth (12 November 2016). "MFA Elite Division 2016–17: The Big Preview". footballcounter.com. Mumbai: Football Counter. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- Chaudhuri, Arunava (5 March 2013). "Mumbai's Kenkre FC name squad for 2nd Division I-League". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
External links
- Mumbai Kenkre FC on Facebook
- Kenkre Football Club at the-aiff.com
- Kenkre Football Club at Soccerway
- Kenkre Football Club at Sofascore
- Team profile at Global Sports Archive