Kashmir Football Club Goes from 100 Balls to I-League

When massive floods submerged 2,550 villages across Kashmir in September 2014, over 200,000 people lost more than their homes. Young people lost their routines, their gathering places, and their sense of purpose.

Journalist Shamim Meraj and entrepreneur Sandeep Chattoo watched boys wandering through devastated neighborhoods with nothing to do. They decided to buy 100 footballs and hand them out.

A week later, those same boys were playing together. That moment sparked an ambitious question: could a football club show the world a different side of Kashmir?

The path forward was anything but easy. Many players worked day jobs as mechanics, laborers, bankers and shopkeepers while training. Funding dried up constantly.

To keep the dream alive, Shamim mortgaged his wife's jewelry. Friends chipped in whatever they could spare. In March 2016, Real Kashmir FC officially launched as the Snow Leopards.

Four months later, the new team entered the 128th Durand Cup and finished last. But they had tasted competition at the national level.

The founders reached out to David Robertson, a former defender for Rangers and Leeds United. Despite Srinagar's harsh winters and difficult conditions, the Scotsman stayed and began building a real team.

The Ripple Effect

Real Kashmir FC went unbeaten through the entire 2017-18 I-League Second Division campaign. On May 30, 2018, they became the first club from Kashmir to earn promotion to the I-League.

The victories kept coming. They defeated defending champions Minerva Punjab, signed a partnership with Adidas, and inspired BBC documentaries about their journey.

Today, the club runs a full pipeline from senior squad down through reserve, U-18, U-15 and U-13 teams. They even train children as young as five years old.

What started as 100 footballs handed out during a crisis has become a pathway for Kashmir's next generation of players to dream bigger than their circumstances.