Kerala Blasters fan advisory board issues No Confidence letter against club management

Tuskers have failed to win a major domestic trophy for 12 years

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in God’s Own Country, Kerala, the home of Kerala Blasters used to be a nightmare for every opposition team to play at. From massive tifos, Viking claps to cheering, the crowd served as the twelfth man for the Kerala Blasters as the home team recorded one of the highest average attendances in ISL history.

However, things have taken a drastic turn as there has been a massive dip in attendance at the JLN Stadium. The venue that once saw a yellow tsunami of fans taking over the stadium now finds empty stands as the club navigates through a catastrophic phase.

Amidst such unprecedented times, the KBFC(Kerala Blasters FC) Fan Advisory Board issued a no-confidence letter against the club’s management. The letter dated 19 April 2026 describes the situation as a breaking point in fan sentiment. In this article, we dissect the letter to find out the concerns of fans and the demands laid out by FAB.

Why did fans lose faith in KBFC management?

The letter was backed by a survey with a sample size of 416 supporters, and over 75 percent blames the management’s decision that led to the current situation, and around 78.6% demand structural change. This is critical as the FAB is entrusted with the responsibility to bridge the gap between fans and management.

The FAB is a formal governance interface within the club that meets management quarterly. It comprises selected fan representatives who discuss strategy, operations and fan engagement. It was basically designed to ensure transparency and accountability.

The letter highlighted systematic failure, including poor sporting decisions, as fans directly blame weak recruitment, poor retention strategy and a lack of long-term football vision that led to deterioration in squad depth. Many players like Diamantakos, Nora Fernandes, Azhar, Aimen and Milos Drincic have left the club in the last few years.

The club is also accused of failure to build continuity and an absence of a coherent roadmap. Also, there have been allegations of nepotism and roles influenced by familial or personal connections, leading to a lack of merit-based appointments.

Five non-negotiable demands from the KBFC Fan Advisory Board

The Kerala Blasters FAB has laid out five non-negotiable demands. The first one is the immediate replacement of the sporting director due to the repeated failures in the recruitment and squad-building process, which have weakened the squad.

The FAB also proposed to introduce a merit-based hiring system to curb any familial or personal connections affecting the club’s decisions. They also demanded the appointment of experienced and professional executives to ensure accountability and autonomy.

The advisory boards feel that squad rebuilding is a necessity and demand time-bound roadmaps to track the process. At a time when Kerala Blasters FC have failed to compete for the silverware in the last two seasons, fans feel the goal must be to return to title contention.

The last demand set by the fans was to align the leadership with fan expectations and restore the ambition and professionalism in the club. The club saw its golden period in the inaugural years when it reached two finals in three seasons, but in recent years, the club has struggled badly.

During Ivan’s tenure as KBFC coach, the club made it to the playoffs every year, but things took a tragic turn after his departure. The club saw a series of managerial changes after Mikael Stahre and David Catala were sacked and Ashley Westwood has taken over the reins.

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