The 2023–24 season was the tenth season in Kerala Blasters FC's existence, as well as their tenth season in the Indian Super League. It began in August 2023 with the 2023 Durand Cup and ended in April 2024 with the 2024 Indian Super League playoffs.
Following the 2022–23 season, the Blasters parted ways with their long-time assistant coach Ishfaq Ahmed, captain Jessel Carneiro, and their then-most-capped player, Sahal Abdul Samad. The club also made their most expensive signing its history by paying FC Goa a reported fee of ₹1.45 crores for the transfer of Aibanbha Dohling on a three-year contract. The Blasters played three friendly matches during their pre-season camp in Kerala, before travelling to United Arab Emirates for playing out three friendly matches against UAE Pro League sides.
The Blasters began their season with the 2023 Durand Cup. They played their first match of the season against Gokulam Kerala FC on 13 August in a 3–4 loss. With their 5–0 win over the Indian Navy FT in the tournament, the Blasters registered the highest win in their history, before getting eliminated from the competition after finishing third in the group with just four points. During the international breaks in January 2024, the Blasters took part in the 2024 Indian Super Cup. However, the Blasters were disqualified from the tournament following the two defeats in the rest of the group stage matches.
After finishing the regular season with 33 points at 5th spot in the table, the Blasters qualified for the league playoffs for the third consecutive time. They were subsequently knocked out of the knockout play-offs by Odisha FC. By the end of the football season, the Blasters had over a dozen injuries in their squad throughout the season coupled with a dozen suspensions, as the Blasters ended their 2023–24 season without silverware.
In the 3–3 draw against Chennaiyin FC in November, the Blasters's striker Diamantakos scored a brace and thus became the all-time top scorer for the Blasters with 16 goals across all competitions, surpassing the joint-record set by Ogbeche and Luna. The 2–0 win against Mumbai City at home on 24 December registered the highest match attendance of the season with 34,981 spectators. After netting 13 goals for the Blasters throughout the entire league season, Dimitrios Diamantakos won the league's Golden Boot award for topping the goal-scoring chart, and thus became the first Blasters player to win the award.
Background
Kerala Blasters came into the 2023–24 season after a dramatic 2022–23 season. The club came into the 2022–23 season after becoming the runner-ups of the 2021–22 IndIan Super League season, but failed to register any trophies to their name at the end of the season. The season began with the Blasters sending their youth squad as their first team to the Durand Cup who was knocked out in the quarter-finals. This particular season was remarked by the Blasters' walk-off from the league's knockout stage match against their arch-rivals Bengaluru FC following their disagreement on the free-kick goal scored by Sunil Chhetri during the extra-time. The Blasters were eventually disqualified from the league's knockout stages, and were penalized by the All India Football Federation as a result of their walk-off. They ended their 2022–23 campaign with the group stage disqualification from the 2023 Indian Super Cup tournament, in which they failed to qualify for the knockout stages as a result of ending up third in the group stage.
Pre-season overview
2023
April
On 18 April 2023, the Blasters announced that they have mutually parted ways with their assistant coach Ishfaq Ahmed.
On 24 April, the Blasters announced their squad for the Reliance Foundation Development League's national phase.
May
On 4 May, the Blasters announced that they have extended the contract of the Greek striker Dimitrios Diamantakos till the end of the 2023–24 season.
On 9 May, the Blasters announced the contract extension of youngsters Muhammad Saheef, Mohammed Azhar and Mohammed Aimen until 2026.
On 12 May, the Blasters announced the contract extension of the Indian midfielder Nihal Sudeesh till 2026 on a three-year contract.
On 16 May, the Blasters announced the signing of the Australian winger Jaushua Sotirio on a two-year deal after reaching an agreement with Newcastle Jets FC for an undisclosed transfer fee.
On 18 May, the Blasters announced that they have been granted ICLS Premier 1 license by the All India Football Federation.
On 19 May, AIFF announced the final Indian squad for the 2023 Intercontinental Cup and 2023 SAFF Championship, which consisted of the Blasters' players; Pritam Kotal (who was signed after the tournament), Jeakson Singh, and then Sahal Abdul Samad (whom would later leave the club during the pre-season).
On 19 May, the Blasters announced the contract extension of assistant coach Frank Dauwen till 2025.
On 21 May, the Blasters announced the contract extension of the Indian defender Hormipam Ruivah till 2027 on a four-year long-term contract.
On 30 May, the Blasters announced the departure of their club captain, Jessel Carneiro after four years with the club.
On 31 May, the Blasters announced the departures of Víctor Mongil, Apostolos Giannou, Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, Harmanjot Khabra and Muheet Shabir from the club as their contracts ended on the same day.
June
On 1 June, the Blasters announced the signing of the Indian right-back Prabir Das till 2026 on a three-year deal from their rivals Bengaluru FC.
On 2 June, the All India Football Federation's Appeal Committee rejected the Blasters' and their coach Ivan Vukomanović's appeal against their Indian rupees four crore's fine for abandonment of the last season's league knockout stage match against Bengaluru, and rejected Vukumanovic's appeal against the fine of Indian rupees five lakhs and 10-game ban imposed by the All India Football Federation's Disciplinary committee for calling the players off from the pitch amidst the game.
On 6 June, the Blasters announced that they have temporarily shut down their women's team after the men's side were fined by AIFF for their walk-off from the playoff match last season.
On 13 June, the Blasters announced the departure of their Indian left-back Denechandra Meitei after spending three years at the club.
On 14 June, the Blasters announced the loan departure of their Indian wing-back Nishu Kumar to East Bengal Club for the upcoming season.
On 16 June, the Blasters announced the one-year contract extension of their Indian goalkeeper Karanjit Singh till 2024.
On 22 June, the Blasters was ranked 70th in the CIES Football Observatory's weekly post of top 100 clubs in world with most social media followers, with the Blasters being the only club from India being featured in the list with 6.7 million followers across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by the time of the release of the rankings.
On 24 June, it was announced that the Blasters have taken the appeal of the AIFF's sanctions on them as a result of their walk-off in the last season's knockout stage match against Bengaluru to the Court of Arbitration for Sport based in Switzerland.
On 26 June, the Blasters announced the signing of the Indian winger Bikash Singh Sagolsem till 2025 on a two-year contract with an option to extend, and was subsequently sent on loan to Mohammedan SC for the upcoming season.
July
On 1 July, the Blasters announced that their Indian midfielder Vibin Mohanan would travel to Greece for a one-month training stint with the Super League Greece club OFI Crete FC ahead of the season.
On 10 July, the Blasters appointed T. G. Purushothaman as their new first-team assistant head coach ahead of new season on a three-year contract till 2026.
On 11 July, the Blasters announced that the player arrivals for the pre-season camp of new season had begun in Kochi from 10 July 2023.
On 12 July, the Blasters announced the departure of their first-choice goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill to East Bengal Club for an undisclosed transfer fee.
On 13 July, the Blasters announced the loan signing of the Indian left-back Naocha Singh from Mumbai City FC until the end of the season.
On 14 July, the Blasters announced the departure of their most-capped player and their Indian midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad to Mohun Bagan Super Giant, who bought the latter for an undisclosed transfer fee in a swap deal with the Blasters acquiring the services of the Indian right-back Pritam Kotal from Mohun Bagan Super Giant on a three-year deal.
On 14 July, the Blasters announced that the Nigerian forward Justine Ojoka Emmanuel has joined their pre-season camp on a trial.
On 16 July, the Blasters announced that their Uruguayan midfielder Adrián Luna as their new number 10 ahead of the upcoming season.
On 17 July, the Blasters announced the contract extension of their Indian goalkeeper Sachin Suresh till 2026 on a three-year contract.
On 19 July, the Blasters provided a statement on the ankle injury sustained by their Australian winger Jaushua Sotirio during the training session in their pre-season camp and ruled him out of action till 2024 depending upon on the degree of the injury.
On 20 July, the Blasters announced the departure of their Indian central midfielder Ayush Adhikari after reaching an agreement with an unknown club for an undisclosed transfer fee.
On 25 July, the Blasters announced that their Australian winger Jaushua Sotirio has undergone a surgery following his injury in the pre-season camp.
On 28 July, the Blasters played their first pre-season friendly match against Maharaja's College football team, which they won 8–0. The match played at the training facility of the Blasters in Panampilly Nagar saw Bijoy Varghese and Bidyashagar Singh complete their respective braces in the first half and Rahul K. P.'s second-half brace and a single goal each from Dimitrios Diamantakos and Adrián Luna in the second-half stretched the final score 8–0 in favour of the Blasters.
August
On 1 August, the Blasters announced the loan signing of Indian goalkeeper Lara Sharma from Bengaluru FC till the end of the season.
On 8 August, the Blasters played their second pre-season friendly match against the Kerala Premier League club Kovalam FC, which they won 5–0 at 120 minutes. Jeakson Singh scored the first goal followed by a brace from the Nigerian forward Justine Emmanuel, who completed his brace. Later, a single scored by both Nihal Sudeesh and Muhammad Ajsal sealed a five-nil victory for the Blasters at full time for the match held in their training facility in Panampilly Nagar.
On 9 August, the Blasters announced their squad for the 2023 Durand Cup tournament.
On 10 August, the Blasters announced the signing of the Indian forward Ishan Pandita on a two-year deal with an option to extend for an additional year, and also confirmed his participation for the club in the 2023 Durand Cup tournament, which was hinted by the club during the squad announcement the previous day.
On 11 August, the Blasters announced the launching of their away-kit for the upcoming season.
Season overview
2023
August