Lonestar Kashmir FC
Wikipedia - Lonestar Kashmir FC
Lonestar Kashmir Football Club (also known as Lone Star or LKFC) is an Indian professional football club based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Founded in 2013, the club previously competed in I-League 2nd Division, and currently participates in JKFA Professional League.
Lonestar first competed professionally when they were part of the 2015 I-League 2nd Division. The club primarily uses TRCG Stadium as home ground.
History
Formation and journey
Lonestar Kashmir Football Club was founded in 2013 and is affiliated with the Jammu & Kashmir Football Association (JKFA). The club participates in various state and regional tournaments. In 2013, LoneStar Group became a primary sponsor of the team, and registered it as a private company to fulfil AIFF club licensing criteria. At the end of the 2013 season, LoneStar Group registered KFC under the Companies Act as per the AIFF Club licensing criteria. Popularly known as Kashmir FC, Lonestar Kashmir Football Club is a dream project of Iftikhar Ahmed Lone, its founder and chairman.
The club, first of its kind in the state, has been floated to promote football amongst the talented youth of the Jammu & Kashmir. A successful businessman, having established Lonestar as a global brand of Kashmiri handicrafts and jewellery in the middle-east and many European countries, Iftikhar returned to the valley. In quest for self-actualization, once a college-level footballer had the idea to introduce a Kashmir-based club in the professional football map of the country, thus Lonestar Kashmir FC came into being. The club's biggest achievements were emerging as the runners-up of the I-League 2nd Division in 2015, and 2015–16 season, though they didn't managed the top spot of the league and never qualified for the I-League, one of India's top-flight football leagues. Mozin Shah emerged as top Indian scorer for the club with six goals in 18 matches. The 2016–17 season was not suitable for them as they bowed out from Group stages, finishing on bottom with 2 points in 9 matches.
In 2017, they participated in 15th Police Martyrs Memorial Football Tournament, which was held at the TRC Turf Ground. In October 2018, they took part in another state tournament J&K Invitational Cup but could not succeed.
2020–present
Lonestar Kashmir later participated in the JKFA Professional League during its inaugural 2020–21 season. Later they took part in the Real Kashmir Cup in 2021 and reached to the semi-finals. In May 2021, the club announced that Kashmir Observer will be their official media partner for the 2020–21 season. The following season in July 2021, Rogelio Juárez Robinson became the first Panamanian footballer to sign with Lonestar from Jamaican side Mount Pleasant Football Academy.
In July 2021, the club participated in the inaugural season of JKFA Professional League, the first professional league in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, organised by Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) and J&K Sports Council. They finished on sixth place. In 2022, Lonestar Kashmir reached semi-finals of Christmas Gold Cup.
Lonestar Kashmir FC este deținută de Lonestar Group, o companie corporativă cu sediul în Srinagar. Stadionul de acasă al clubului este Stadionul Bakshi, care are o capacitate de 15.000 de locuri.
Echipa a avut succes în anii recenți, câștigând I-League în 2018-19 și Cupa Federației în 2019-20. De asemenea, au reprezentat India în Cupa AFC, o competiție continentală majoră pentru cluburile din Asia.
Lonestar Kashmir FC este cunoscută pentru stilul său de joc ofensiv și pentru baza puternică de fani. Ei sunt considerați una dintre cele mai promițătoare echipe din India și sunt așteptați să continue să facă progrese în anii următori.