KOCHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru International stadium in Kaloor is packed to the brim with nearly forty to fifty thousand fans dressed in yellow - this is one of the most endearing scenes for Malayali football lovers. When a match is underway, the carnival-like atmosphere engulfs all of Kaloor, even the traffic comes to a halt and the city listens closely to the commotion that follows a goal. Even rival teams looked forward to their visits to Kochi to soak up the vibrant atmosphere created by the fans of Kerala Blasters on matchdays.
Those days may seem a distant memory now, with the pandemic outbreak forcing Indian Super League inside a bio-secure bubble in Goa for the past two seasons. However, KBFC fans have been called the most loyal all over the world for a reason. Despite losing the stadium to Covid, the fans are making it a point to make their presence, on social media.
The club became one of the top Asian football clubs in terms of interactions on Instagram with an impressive 18.9 million interactions, according to a report from January 2022. The analysis was made by Deportes & Finanzas, a sports data analytic platform. Kerala Blasters is also the only Indian football club among the top five Indian sports clubs with the most number of interactions.
With 2.6 million followers, Blasters is also the most followed Asian club on Instagram. “We are delighted to hear the results. It’s a reflection of all the hard work the team puts in behind the scenes. The digital space is growing rapidly and we’re happy to be one of its spearheaders. Moreover, we’ve also brought more national brands on board this season, and this is a testament to our growth as a marketable sports club in India. We are more than just a football club from Kerala.” said KBFC Director Nikhil Bhardwaj.
The results also point at the engagement the club has managed to achieve with its fanbase even in the middle of a pandemic. “We are extremely happy to know that we have become a competition for top football clubs in Asia on social media. We thank our fans all over the world who always stood with us. As much as we miss the cheer of our fans at the stadium, we are glad they are with us online. We also want to thank our entire digital team who made this possible. We are only getting bigger and better from here,” said Manu Prathap, assistant digital manager of KBFC.