KOCHI: The rift between the Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters FC and their biggest fan group Manjappada has widened with the latter calling for a boycott of all further KBFC matches, throwing open the possibility of the massive Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium losing the charm of iconic celebrations during ISL matches in Kochi.
On Friday, the fan group posted the boycott call across their social media handles, raising serious allegations against the club for poor performances and management. In their statement, Manjappada said the team has no clear motive or identity, pointing to the repeated failures this season.
The Blasters are 13th in the standings with no win and just a draw to show for in six matches. Since the departure of the club’s fairly successfully coach Ivan Vukomanovic in 2024, the team -- which had been occupying the top positions -- suddenly dropped down the points table, failing to make it into the play-offs. Since then, the club appointed Mikael Stahre, T G Purushothaman and David Catala as head coaches, but all ended up being sacked mid-season due to a lack of results.
Manjappada alleged “poor player management, questionable signings with no clear plan, and complete disconnect between the management and the fans” as the primary reasons for stepping back from supporting activities.
Manjappada currently has 1.22 lakh followers on X, 3.34 lakh on Facebook, and 7.67 lakh on Instagram and is often dubbed as the biggest football fan group in Asia. The season, which began late, had already witnessed a huge drop in footfall at the JLN Stadium, the home ground of KBFC, unlike the packed galleries in the past.
At the same time, the fan group played a huge part in conducting social media campaigns to popularise the recent India-Hong Kong Asian Cup Qualifiers match at the venue.
The Kerala Blasters management has not yet responded to the boycott call.