Kenkre FC: Made in Maharashtra & ready to conquer India

Created with love, nurtured with passion, Kenkre FC is now ready for the big boy's league. It has taken more than two decades of patience and perseverance for the Mumbai-based outfit to finally realise the dream of plying its trade in a national-level professional league. From the dust bowl of Shivaji Park to earning the opportunity to play in I-League, they have come a long way. And neither they are backed by any corporate, nor do they have an army of fans, but are fuelled by a handful of individuals' undying passion for football.

Adib Kenkre started with just nine cadets in 2000 in a small portion of Shivaji Park, the cradle of Indian cricket which has produced legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar to name a few. Although now he is hardly involved in the day-to-day affairs of the club due to his age, Joshua Lewis, CEO of Kenkre FC, has made sure that the ideals of his guru continue to articulate the ethos of the club. In the cricket-crazy city of Mumbai, Kenkre wanted an oasis of football for the youth. He wanted to provide a platform so that the young guns of Maharashtra can dare to dream of pursuing football as a career.

"For the qualifiers, we had 23 players from Maharashtra and we look to retain 20 of them. Out of the 20, 11 are homegrown who had come up the ranks of our academy. We will make a few additions but priority will be given to the players of Maharashtra and then we will consider players from the rest of the country. In fact, our coach Akhil Kothari is also an academy graduate," revealed Lewis to Goal.

He believes that it is not correct to perceive that Mumbai cares only about cricket. There is a flourishing landscape of youth football and very few states can match its size and stature.

"The amount of money that is spent in academies or on children here in Mumbai is crazy. The challenge is to encourage more youth to complete their desire to become professional footballers. The journey stops short in most cases but this should change with us qualifying for the I-League," Lewis explained.

Kenkre FC first participated in the second division back in 2008. In their seventh attempt, earlier in 2021, they managed to reach the final stage but fell just short of qualifying after they drew to Rajasthan FC, when they needed a win. Although disappointed, it was not the end of the road for them.

"During our course of participation, there have been many clubs that have got promoted and many who have shut shop as they did not find the light at the end of the tunnel. Football as a business is yet to take off as it should have in the country but for us, it remains a passion. Irrespective of the outcome, we will keep trying as we are in for the long haul. You can calculate money but not passion. It is intangible," expressed Lewis, who happens to be one of the founding members of the club.

I-League

But the footballing gods conjured a miracle and at the expense of Chennai City, who failed to fulfill the due procedure of playing in I-League, Kenkre FC was granted a ticket.

"Every year when you play in the 2nd Division, you just want to make the big leap. However, it is extremely difficult. It is a very short competition which makes it further complicated. It is always do or die. Finally, we had our share of luck and so did Rajasthan, as in that game we did everything but the ball just would not go in."

Their preparation has been far from ideal and they are running a race against time. There are less than three weeks to go for I-League to kickoff (December 26), and yet a lot needs to be done in terms of assembling a competitive squad.

Yet, he has an unwavering trust in his troops and believes that the challenges that have overcome in the past twenty years have made them a tough nut to crack. Even if the going gets tough, their shoulders will not drop and will keep fighting until the final matchday.

"We do realise that the challenge is much different and far more complicated. But we have the experience to remain calm in difficult times. So I hope we can use the experiences to the best of our capability and sustain ourselves for the new challenge ahead," Lewis stated with a firm determination in his voice.

After quite a few years, a team from Maharashtra will be playing in the I-League. Their job will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination but the sailors with the oars have braved many a storm in the past. They believe this too shall pass, and in March they would keep rowing stronger than ever.