Football club without fans is dead! Reminder to Kerala Blasters supporters before ‘last’ ISL match

As Kerala Blasters prepare for their final match of the Indian Super League (ISL 2026) season, interim head coach Ashley Westwood has urged the supporters to “come out in full force”. The Englishman reminded the protesting fans that without them, the club is ‘dead’.

The Blasters play FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi, starting 7.30 pm on Monday. The Blasters aim to extend their unbeaten run to six games, having won four and drawn one in their last five. FC Goa had been in the title race until two poor results recently. FC Goa are placed 7th, but six points better off than the Blasters, who are 8th on 14 points. .

“You need to play for the fans. They're a part of the football club. They're part of the football team,” Westwood said in his pre-match press conference held online on Sunday. “Players do respond to noise, and they do respond to atmosphere. So, hopefully, they come out in full force tomorrow. We can give them a performance to be proud of. We can build on what we've done so far. But again, a football club without fans is dead.”

With the arrival of Westwood in late March, replacing David Catala, the Blasters turned a page. From managing just a point from the first six rounds, the club has made 13 points in the next six, starting with a memorable 2-1 win over Bengaluru FC on April 11.

As their results began to improve, so did the number of fans in the galleries, and Westwood wants the fans to make the final match a memorable one for the players. “Well, since my start six games ago, where the stadium was fairly empty, maybe 1,000, 2,000 fans. I think the last game, I'm not sure exactly how many. If I was guessing, I'd say 12,000-ish.

"The numbers have started to increase. But from a player's perspective, of course, they want to play in as many full stadiums as possible,” Westwood said.

The dip in attendance was mainly due to a boycott called by two fan groups, Manjappada and the Blasters Army. While the Blasters Army has withdrawn its boycott and vowed to return to the West gallery, the Manjappada, the biggest in terms of membership, remained firm.

Westwood said seeing a full stadium is encouraging for the home side. “You feel the crowd. You hear them. It motivates the players when they come out for warm-ups. When they hear the crowd cheering goals or reacting to chances, it's good. It's encouraging. It's motivating for players. So, everybody wants to play in front of a full house.

“I don't think it will change the way we play. It won't change the way we go about how we're trying to win the game. But it will certainly lift the players because it does. Anyone who says it doesn't, I believe, is not telling the truth.”

There are fears that the Blasters and a few other ISL clubs might be forced to shut down due to a financial deadlock in the absence of a commercial partner and central pool revenue. That said, the Blasters should feel proud of the second-half of their season, which saw them jump from 13th in the table of 14 by the end of March. A win on Monday would keep them mid-table but also help them dream of a better outcome in the next campaign.