Have you ever wondered about the inexplicable need for women in the field of sports? Do you feel that more awareness about this social inequality is the need of the hour? Then you should check out this initiative by Travancore Royals Football Club.
Travancore Royals Football Club is the first and only fans-owned football club in India. Headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram, this club was launched on 29th Nov 2018 by Jibu, Sijin, Sreekanth, and Suvin. The world’s top football clubs, such as REAL MADRID, FC BARCELONA, FC BAYERN MUNICH, and BORUSSIA DORTMUND are owned and managed by their fans. TRFC aims to use football as a medium to bring positive social transformation to society at large.
Story behind Travancore Royals Football Club
A lot of football clubs were closed down in Kerala and no one made an effort to bring them back. TRFC was born to solve this challenge. Further discussions about this led to the plan of building a “people owned club”, which was a major success in other countries. The support from SMRI students (Sports and Management Research Institute located in Greenfield Stadium) helped them build this club during the initial year.
‘The name Travancore Royals was selected to cover a huge territory not just confined to Trivandrum. We would also like to bring back the legacy of the Travancore army who fought the Dutch EIC in the battle of Colachel, forcing the Dutch to surrender. It is our dream to beat SL Benefica FC (Portuguese Club) and become the club with the world’s largest membership with at least 200,000 paid members, ‘ says Jibu Gibson.
TRFC works as a non-profit organization funded by owners and sponsors including corporates. No student in the academy needs to pay any amount to get trained.
How far has Travancore Royals Football Club come?
- They have various teams of men and women in four age categories:
U-13, U-15, U-18, and Seniors.
- The senior women’s team participated and won the third position in the Kerala Women’s League. The same team qualified to play in the Indian Women’s League playoffs.
- The boys’ team is about to take part in the Kerala Premier League this year.
- An association is formed with Caledonian Braves, another fans-owned club in Scotland which introduces a chance for one student from this club to be trained in Scotland each year.
- TRFC is India’s first club with an ESPORTS TEAM.
Women’s Team
TRFC has launched its women and girls football academy, the Travancore Royal Women & Girls Football Academy. Students enrolled in the training program are currently given free training at All Saints College ground every day.
‘I possess a great interest in the field of sports and I have taken part in the National Youth Championship representing Kerala in Volleyball. I have been selected as an intern in Travancore Royals during the second week of my academic year. I was appointed as the team coordinator for the women’s team which participated in the Kerala women’s league. Such an exposure helped me learn team management and other aspects involved in the management field of sports,” says Ninmini from Thrissur. Ninmini completed her graduation in B.Com and is currently pursuing a PG Diploma in Sports Management.
#SHEQUAL : Women’s Day Campaign
TRFC brings their latest campaign #SHEQUAL as part of International Women’s Day. It intends to promote gender equality by increasing women’s presence in the field of sports. This campaign promotes the message of #SHEQUAL with their newly launched jerseys. Each jersey is priced at INR 999. INR 500 from each jersey sold will be invested in women’s team development and other organizations.
You can book your jerseys here.
This social cause is also aimed at increasing the current owner of the club, especially women owners. By supporting this campaign, the buyer helps a great cause to empower every woman around us.
You can reach out to TRFC’s social media handles or their website to be a part of their club or to know further about their activities.
Official website: https://travancoreroyals.in/
