THOMAS KANNOKADAN DEVASSY, FRANCIS KANNOOKADAN, VARGHESE PAUL PUTHOKARAN have been appointed as Directors of FC KOCHIN SPORTS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED.

[18] The development of FC Kochin lit a spark in Kerala, with the football-mad people embracing the club with open arms.

[22] In the final, they emerged as champions in the prestigious tournament, defeating Mohun Bagan AC by 3–1, under captaincy of Jo Paul Ancheri.

[25][26] Foreign players like Mykola Shevchenko of Ukraine,[27][28] Josiah Seton of Liberia, Obinna Winners Onyia of Benin and Ali Abubakkar of Ghana were included in the squad for both the Durand Cup and NFL of 1997.

The final, against Bahraini side West Riffa, turned out to be a damp squib with the game abandoned due to a power cut in the stadium.

[32] FC Kochin crowned the inaugural season of Kerala Premier League in 1998, and later, they retained title, after winning the second edition in December 1999.

[34] For the 2001–02 NFL season, FC Kochin roped in Czech manager Karel Stromšík as head coach.

[35] They signed four foreigners, Ukrainian Mykola Shevchenko, Nigerian international Obinna Winners Onyia, Liberian national team player Josiah Seton, and Ghanaian goalkeeper.

[35] In that season, the club earned 17 points in 22 league matches, finished in eleventh place and relegated to the NFL II along with Punjab Police.

With reduced sponsorship money after declining performance, and with Indian Football Federation failing to pay the dues to the club, it faced a financial crunch.

[100] Unpaid salaries and exodus of good players led to a low performance of the club in the top league.