Lonestar Kashmir FC
Lonestar Kashmir Football Club (also known as Lone Star or LKFC) is an Indian professional football club based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, that previously competed in the I-League 2nd Division, and currently participates in JKFA Professional League. The club first competed professionally when they were part of the 2015 I-League 2nd Division. History. Formation and journey. Lonestar Kashmir Football Club was founded in 2013 and is affiliated with the Jammu & Kashmir Football Association (JKFA). The club participates in various state and regional tournaments. In 2013, LoneStar Group became a primary sponsor of the team , and registered it as a private company to fulfil AIFF club licensing criteria. At the end of the 2013 season, "LoneStar" Group registered KFC under the Companies Act as per the AIFF Club licensing criteria. Popularly known as Kashmir FC, Lonestar Kashmir Football Club is a dream project of "Iftikhar Ahmed Lone", its founder and chairman. The club, first of its kind in the state, has been floated to promote football amongst the talented youth of the Jammu & Kashmir. A successful businessman, having established "Lonestar" as a global brand of Kashmiri handicrafts and jewellery in the middle-east and many  European countries, Iftikhar returned to the valley. In quest for self-actualization, once a college-level footballer had the idea to introduce a Kashmir-based club in the professional football map of the country, thus Lonestar Kashmir FC came into being. The club's biggest achievements were emerging as the runners-up of the I-League 2nd Division in 2015, and 2015–16 season, though they didn't managed the top spot of the league and never qualified for the I-League, one of India's top-flight football leagues. Farukh Choudhary emerged as top Indian scorer for the club with  six goals in 18 matches. The 2016–17 season was not suitable for them as they bowed out from Group stages, finishing on bottom with 2 points in 9 matches. In 2017, they participated in 15th Police Martyrs Memorial Football Tournament, which was held at the TRC Turf Ground. In October 2018, they took part in another state tournament J&K Invitational Cup but could not succeed. 2020–present. Lonestar Kashmir later participated in the JKFA Professional League during its inaugural 2020–21 season. Later they took part in the Real Kashmir Cup in 2021 and reached to the semi-finals. In May  2021, the club announced that "Kashmir Observer" will be their official media partner for the 2020–21 season. The following season in July 2021, became the first Panamanian footballer to sign with Lonestar from Jamaican side Mount Pleasant Football Academy. In July 2021, the club participates in the innagueal season of JKFA Professional League, the first professional league in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, organised by Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) and J&K Sports Council. They finished on sixth place. Rivalry. Lonestar Kashmir has a rivalry with their fellow Jammu & Kashmir-based club Real Kashmir FC. The team  has also participated in the inaugural 2020–21 Real Kashmir Cup, which was actually hosted by Real Kashmir FC at the TRC Turf Ground. Stadium. Lonestar Kashmir uses the TRC Polo Synthetic Turf Ground in Srinagar for their home matches, which has a seating capacity of 11,000 spectators. Since 2015, the ground is being used in I-League 2nd Division for Lonestar, and I-League for Real Kashmir. It is operated by Jammu & Kashmir Football Association, and was renovated in 2015. During the 2018–19 I-League 2nd Division, Lonestar briefly moved to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board sports complex in  Katra, due to security reasons. Players. Senior team squad. Lonestar Kashmir U19. In 2014, Lonestar Kashmir launched it's U19 team to participate in the Elite League (India). The U19 team was first participated in the league during the 2014–15 I-League U19 season (group D – "rest of India" zone) and moved to final round.