What’s in a name? As used by William Shakespeare in one of his plays.
Often, there is very little, but sometimes plenty. Ooty Black Pearl FC has plenty to offer as the most recent expansion team to become a member in the Canadian Soccer League.
To break it down, Ooty, located in a mountainous district in southern India, is the name of a community considered to be of stunning beauty, with its towering mountains, sparkling waterfalls, lush tea plantations, eucalyptus trees and vast meadows it’s the envy of photographers everywhere and the location of a staggering 250 movies.
While cricket is the sport of choice in India where the 2023 World Championship is being played late this year, soccer also has its place and with a long history throughout the country. The record for fan attendance to a soccer game is 131,781 at the Federation Cup semifinal between East Bengal F.C. and Mohun Bagan A.C. in 1997.
Black Pearl was added to the name Ooty, to pay tribute to and remember legend Pele, considered to be the best footballer ever, who passed away December 29, 2022. The Black Pearl was his nickname.
Satheesh Mani, a senior consultant in business and services in the GTA, born and raised at Ooty and Sangahvi Ramachandra, are the founding members of the club. Mani is the CEO, while other principals are head coach Anto Santhosh, assistant coach Anurf Young and Anish Kumar Bhaskar is the corporate secretary..
Following the announcement of Ooty Black Pearl FC becoming an expansion team of the CSL, Mani stated: “as a tribute to Pele’s incredible career, Club OOTY Black Pearl FC aims to embody the same level of excellence, passion, and dedication that made Pele a soccer icon. We are excited to build a team that will inspire and entertain fans with their skill and sportsmanship on the field. We invite all soccer enthusiasts to join us in celebrating the launch of Club Ooty Black Pearl FC and look forward to an exciting season ahead”.
The team’s opening match will be played during the weekend of May 20/21. The complete league schedule will be released the week of May 8.