KOCHI: For decades, basketball ruled Kerala’s playgrounds, especially in schools and colleges. The state produced stars who dazzled on national and international courts, and galleries once filled up for neighbourhood games as if they were festival matches. Now, in an ambitious bid to relive that golden era and bring back the lost frenzy, the Kerala Basketball Association (KBA) is set to roll out the state’s first-ever exclusive basketball league in April 2026.
The developmental competition titled Basketball League Kerala — to debut in Kochi — is KBA’s biggest push yet to revive a sport whose grassroots sheen has dimmed even as Kerala’s women continue to shine on the national stage. “Back then, basketball courts were always packed, just like football or volleyball. We have lost that completely,” recalled veteran player George Zachariah, captain of Kerala’s 1983 senior nationals squad.
“College teams used to dominate. Now, it’s the school teams that are doing well. This league is a great chance to revive the sport.”
In its first season, the league will feature only Kerala-based players and is structured as a full-fledged talent pipeline. It is being organised in association with Kochi-based Starting Five Sports Management — which has struck a 20-year partnership with KBA — and Pune-based ABCFF League, the team behind Maharashtra’s successful basketball league.
Scouting begins this December, when registered players in four categories — U-14 boys and girls, and U-18 boys and girls — will compete in a unique ‘One Minute to Hoop Skill’ (OMH) challenge. Shortlisted players will go through match-play trials in late January, after which 100 players will enter a digital auction powered by virtual points. Six franchise teams will build their squads from this pool.
“Leagues like this make children serious about the sport from a very young age,” said Anirudh Pole, CEO of ABCFF and a coach who helped build Maharashtra’s league in just four years. BLK Season 1, scheduled from April 2 to 12 at the Regional Sports Centre, Kochi, will pack in 72 matches — the biggest competitive stage Kerala’s U-14 and U-18 talent has ever had. The tournament will be streamed on FanCode. It will also open the doors for 48 Kerala coaches, alongside referees and support staff, to be part of the league ecosystem.
Looking at Kerala’s basketball arc, KBA life president and former state captain P J Sunny pointed to the financial strain that has stunted the sport’s growth. “Expenses have been really high. It has affected the number of high-level tournaments. We need money both to support players and to run advanced facilities. We’re trying to revive all that now,” he said at the launch event in Kochi.
KBA officials added that a senior league too is planned for next season.