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Kerala Premier League
Organising body	Kerala Football Association
Founded	1998; 27 years ago (as Kerala Football League); 13 October 2012; 12 years ago (as Kerala Premier League);
Country	India
Number of clubs	20
Level on pyramid	5
Promotion to	I-League 3
Relegation to	Kerala Premier League Second Division
Current champions	Kerala United (2nd title)
Most championships	SBT Thiruvananthapuram (6 titles)
TV partners	FanCode; Scoreline Sports (YouTube)
	Current: 2023–24

The Kerala Premier League is the highest state-level football league organized by the Kerala Football Association and played in the state of Kerala, India. It is the overall fifth tier of the Indian football league system. For sponsorship reasons it is officially known as the Scoreline Kerala Premier League.^[2] Founded in 1998, the Kerala Football League was the first football league in Kerala, and got rebranded in 2013 as the KPL. Kerala United is the current champion.

History

Kerala Football League

After the introduction of the National Football League by the All India Football Federation, the Kerala Football Association started its Kerala Football League (KFL) in 1998. The team finishing top was nominated to 2nd division of the National Football League.

1998 season

FC Kochin was crowned the inaugural champion. SBT finished in second place.

1999 season

The second edition of Kerala Football League was held in Kochi and Kollam in December 1999. FC Kochin retained the tille, and SBT FC become the runners up.^[3]

2007 season

SBT FC won the title, and Central Excise Kochi become the runners up.^[4]

Format

The league features teams from the state of Kerala affiliated with the KFA. The top four teams from each group qualify for the final round. A women's league started in the 2014–15 season with 8 teams.^[5]^[6]

Sponsorship

2013–15, 2018–21: Ramco^[2]
2015–16: Dentcare Dental Lab
2016–17: Cochin Shipyard^[7]
2017–18: ICL Fincorp^[8]
2022–: Scoreline

Team statistics


Team	Winners	Runners-up
SBI Kerala	6	5
Gokulam Kerala FC	2	3
KSEB FC	2	2
Real Malabar FC	0	0
Kerala United FC	2	0
BASCO FC	0	0
Parappur FC	0	0
Kerala Blasters B	1	0
Luca Soccer Club	0	0
Golden Threads	1	0
SAT	0	1
Kovalam FC	0	0
Kerala Police	0	1
FC Areekode	0	1
Muthoot FA	0	0
Shooters United Pande	0	0
FC Kerala	0	0

Championship summary

Season	Champions	Runners-up
Kerala Football League
1998–99	FC Kochin	SBT
1999–2000^[9]	FC Kochin (2)	SBT
2000–01	SBT	Trivandrum Titanium FC
2001–02	League cancelled
2002–03	League cancelled
2003–04	SBT (2)	FC Kochin
2004–05^[10]	KSEB	SBT
2005–06	Viva Kerala FC	SBT
2006–07^[11]	SBT (3)	Central Excise Club
2007–08	SBT (4)	Trivandrum Titanium FC
2009–2013	League not held
Kerala Premier League
2013–14	Eagles	SBT
2014–15	SBT (5)	Kerala Police FC
2015–16	SBT (6)	Central Excise Club
2016–17	KSEB (2)	FC Thrissur
2017–18	Gokulam Kerala	Kerala United
2018–19	Indian Navy FC	Gokulam Kerala
2019–20	Kerala Blasters B	Gokulam Kerala
2020–21	Gokulam Kerala (2)	KSEB
2021–22	Golden Threads	KSEB
2022–23	Kerala United	Gokulam Kerala
2023–24	Kerala United (2)	SAT

Top scorers

Season	Top scorer	Team	Goals
2015–16	Askar	Central Excise Cochin	6
2016–17	Firos Kalathingal	Kerala Police	7
2017–18	Emmanuel Aidoo	Quartz FC	12
2018–19	Vishnu Harry Moris Bipaka Thapa Christian Sabah	Shooters United Padne FC Kerala Indian Navy (football club) Gokulam Kerala FC	6
2019–20	Isahak Nuhu Seidu Kamara E.	Golden Threads FC SAT	8
2020–21	Saliou Guindo	Gokulam Kerala FC	8
2021–22	Isahak Nuhu Seidu	Golden Threads FC	12
2022–23	Samuel Mensa Konney	Gokulam Kerala FC	10

Media coverage

FanCode and Scoreline Sports are the current official streaming partners of the Kerala Premier League.

References

^ "Kerala United retain KPL crown with three goals in injury time". Kannur: ON Manorama News. 11 February 2024. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
^ ^a ^b "KFA Announces Kerala Premier League". Football News India. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
^ Staff (5 April 2006). "1999 season Kerala Football League". Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
^ Staff (5 April 2006). "2007 season Kerala Football League". Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
^ "Kerala U-21 Football Team aims for Santosh Trophy as Kerala Premier League kicks off". thenewsminute.com. 18 April 2016. Archived from the original on 22 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
^ "Crippled but Trudging Along..." newindianexpress.com. 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 22 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
^ Correspondant, Special. "Kerala Premier League to kick off on April 8". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
^ Rayan, Stan (4 April 2018). "Lack of funds forces KSEB to pull out of KPL". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
^ "WELCOME TO FOOTBALL CLUB KOCHIN — Success Stories". fckochin.in. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
^ Staff (5 April 2006). "Top six teams for Kerala Football League". www.oneindia.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
^ Staff (5 May 2007). "SBT enters Kerala Football League final". www.mykhel.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2021.