2025–26 Kerala Premier League
13th season of Kerala Premier League
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The 2025–26 Kerala Premier League was the thirteenth season of the Kerala Premier League,[1] the highest level of the state league system in Kerala and fifth of the overall Indian football league system.[2] Muthoot FA were the defending champions.[3]
Season2025–26
Dates8 March – 28 April 2026 (Regular season)
6 May – 26 May 2026 (Super Eight)
29 May 2026 (Play off)
31 May 2026 (Final)
6 May – 26 May 2026 (Super Eight)
29 May 2026 (Play off)
31 May 2026 (Final)
ChampionsGokulam Kerala B
PromotedCalicut
| Season | 2025–26 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 March – 28 April 2026 (Regular season) 6 May – 26 May 2026 (Super Eight) 29 May 2026 (Play off) 31 May 2026 (Final) |
| Champions | Gokulam Kerala B |
| Promoted | Calicut |
| Matches | 67 |
| Goals | 207 (3.09 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Nijo Gilbert Sajeesh E (8 goals) |
| Biggest win | Golden Threads 6–0 Kerala Police (18 April 2026) |
| Highest scoring | EMEA College 4–4 Real Malabar (25 May 2026) |
| Longest winning run | Calicut (8 matches) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Calicut (8 matches) |
| Longest winless run | Kerala United SAI Centre Real Malabar (6 matches) |
| Longest losing run | Kerala United (6 matches) |
← 2024–25 2026–27 → | |
Teams
Fourteen teams are competing in the league: the top eleven teams from the previous season and two promoted from the KPL 2 and a corporate entry, Super League Kerala side Calicut, the first SLK franchise to do so.[4]
Changes from the previous season
Promoted to I League 3
- Muthoot FA (withdrew)[5]
Corporate entry
Promoted to the Kerala Premier League
- EMEA College
- SAI Centre
Relegated to KPL 2
Teams and locations
| Team | City | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calicut | Kozhikode |
| 2 | EMEA College | Kondotty |
| 3 | Golden Threads | Kochi |
| 4 | Gokulam Kerala B | Kozhikode |
| 5 | Inter Kerala | Kothamangalam |
| 6 | Kerala Blasters B | Kochi |
| 7 | Kerala Police | Trivandrum |
| 8 | Kerala United | Thrissur |
| 9 | KSEB | Trivandrum |
| 10 | Kovalam | Kovalam |
| 11 | PFC Kerala | Thrissur |
| 12 | Real Malabar | Kondotty |
| 13 | SAI Centre | Kollam |
| 14 | Wayanad United | Kalpetta |
Personnel and sponsorship
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Sponsor (chest) | Sponsor (sleeve) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calicut |  Biby Thomas |
Arjun Jayaraj | Loop | Peekay Steels | |
| 2 | EMEA College | Ameen Navas |
Fahad | Sky Ford | ||
| 3 | Golden Threads FC | Shiju Rajan |
Ajay Alex | Wayna Water, BEO Software | ||
| 4 | Gokulam Kerala B | Rajeev Ponnanthari |
Bibin Boban | |||
| 5 | Inter Kerala FC | Britto Clemmy |
Akhil Praveen | |||
| 6 | Kerala Blasters B | Noel Joseph |
Jaganath Jayan | |||
| 7 | Kerala Police | Siddik VV |
Abhinav | Chips Oman | ||
| 8 | Kerala United FC | Shelbin Francis |
Nikhil Raj | |||
| 9 | KSEB | Sanushraj Palanickal |
Hajmal Sakeer | KSEB | ||
| 10 | Kovalam | Rajesh Mohanan |
KIMS Health | |||
| 11 | PFC Kerala | Sanjoy Kumar Dey |
Iqlaq Fayaz | Jos Alukkas | ||
| 12 | Real Malabar FC | Haary Benny |
Aboobacker Dilshad | EDEX | ||
| 13 | SAI Centre | Wangden Lama | ||||
| 14 | Wayanad United | Daison Cheriyan |
SKAMPILO | |||
Venues
| Stadium | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| EMS Stadium | 50,000 | Kozhikode |
| Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium | 15,000 | Thrissur |
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EMEA College | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 15 | Advance to Super Eight |
| 2 | Calicut FC | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 13 | |
| 3 | Real Malabar | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 10 | |
| 4 | Gokulam Kerala B | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 9 | |
| 5 | Wayanad United | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 6 | |
| 6 | Kerala Blasters B | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 5 | |
| 7 | SAI Centre | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 19 | −13 | 1 | Relegation to the 2026–27 Kerala Premier League 2 |
Source: The Away End
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kerala Police | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 13 | Super Eight |
| 2 | Golden Threads | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 11 | |
| 3 | KSEB | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 11 | |
| 4 | Inter Kerala | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 10 | |
| 5 | Kovalam | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 6 | |
| 6 | PFC Kerala | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 5 | |
| 7 | Kerala United | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 20 | −16 | 0 | Relegation to the 2026–27 Kerala Premier League 2 |
Source: The Away End
Super Eight
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calicut FC | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 18 | Qualification For Semifinals |
| 2 | KSEB | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 12 | |
| 3 | Kerala Police | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 10 | |
| 4 | Gokulam Kerala B | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 8 | |
| 5 | Golden Threads | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 8 | |
| 6 | EMEA College | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 2 | |
| 7 | Real Malabar | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 19 | −11 | 1 | |
| 8 | Inter Kerala (withdrew)[6] | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 2 |
Updated to match(es) played on 26 May 2026. Source: The Away End
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Knockout stage
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Calicut | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Kerala Police | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Calicut | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Gokulam Kerala B | 3 | |||||||
| 2 | KSEB | 1 | |||||||
| 4 | Gokulam Kerala B | 2 | |||||||
Final
Statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nijo Gilbert | KSEB | 8 |
| Sajeesh E | Kerala Police | ||
| 3 | Babble Sivery | Kerala Police | 6 |
| 4 | Vishakh Mohanan | Golden Threads | 5 |
| Mahesh K | Real Malabar | ||
| Muhammed Bilal | Gokulam Kerala | ||
| 6 | Sreenath M | Wayanad United | 4 |
| Sreeraj K | KSEB | ||
| Aswin KV | Inter Kerala | ||
| Jamsheed Ali | Gokulam Kerala | ||
| Vivek KS | Inter Kerala | ||
| Antony K Paulose | Calicut | ||
| Nandu Krishna | Gokulam Kerala | ||
| Muhammed Minshan | EMEA College | ||
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muhammed Minshan | EMEA College | Real Malabar | 4-4 | 25 May 2026 | |
Clean sheets
| No | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muhammed Roshan | EMEA | 4 |
| Abhinav | Kerala Police | ||
| Bishorjit Singh | Calicut | ||
| Alkesh Raj | Golden Threads | ||
| Raysudheen | Gokulam Kerala | ||
| 6 | Muhammed Sinan | Real Malabar | 3 |
| Shehin Khan | KSEB | ||
| Muhammed Azhar | Kerala Police | ||
| 9 | Afthab Ashraf | PFC Kerala | 2 |
| Muhammed Anas | Calicut | ||
Season awards
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the league | Arun Kumar D | Calicut |
| Golden boot | Nijo GilbertSajeesh E | KSEB Kerala Police FC |
| Golden glove | Raysudheen | Gokulam Kerala FC B |
| Best defender | Ameen | Calicut |
| Fair Play Award |