ISL gets new team this season—Hyderabad FC

Football fans in Hyderabad will now have a club of their own to root for after it was announced that Hyderabad FC will join the Indian Super League this season. Former Kerala Blasters CEO Varun Tripuraneni and businessman Vijay Madduri will be the owners of the club.

“It is a proud moment for me, to be co-owner of Hyderabad FC," the official ISL website quoted Tripuraneni as saying. "Hyderabad is a city with great football culture. I look forward to working with key stakeholders and building a strong foundation for the club, which will eventually contribute to society and do the city proud. Our immediate task is to prepare for the new season,“ he said. Tripuraneni has also served as the COO at Chennaiyin FC.

Madduri, too, said he was “looking forward to playing a significant role in developing football in the state, reviving its past glory”.

Former English footballer Philip Brown will, reportedly, remain the head coach.

Reports suggest that the Hyderabad FC is just Pune City FC in a new bottle. The latter, which was formerly owned by the Rajesh Wadhawan Group, has been struggling to pay their players and coaching staff.

Their right to participation in the ISL has been transferred to Hyderabad FC, who are likely to play their home games at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad.

As a new club, it will also be exempted from the two-year transfer ban that was imposed on Pune City FC for having illegally approached Chennai City midfielder Nestor Gordillo.

Hyderabad has slipped off the map of Indian football lately, with Fateh Hyderabad club appearing in the second division of the I-League between 2015 and 2018. But the city has had a glorious footballing past, with Hyderabad City Police winning the Rovers Cup nine times and Durand Cup twice.

The sixth edition of the ISL is scheduled to kick off on October 20 in Kochi with Kerala Blasters hosting ATK.