ARA FC
ARA Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Founded in 2016, the club is nicknamed "Ahmedabad Alphas", and previously competed in I-League 2nd Division. ARA FC is the first professional team from Gujarat to compete in the nationwide league. The club also competes in Gujarat SFA Club Championship.
Their reserve and youth teams play in both Hero Sub-Junior League and Hero Elite League, while the women's team is a member of Indian Women's League.
History
Academy and early years
Ahmedabad Racquet Academy started its journey as a professional multi-sports academy in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which mainly consists of racquet sports and has been running since 2011 and began participating in Ahmedabad Junior league. The football club was among the newest projects established by the academy in recent times as an initiative by owner Vikram Patel.Formation of club
The existing academy owned by Patel emerged as ARA FC in 2016 to ensure development of football in the Indian state of Gujarat. On 19 July 2018, their academy were accredited and given two stars based on eligibility criteria, which allowed them to play in Youth League U18. ARA as a club became affiliated with Gujarat State Football Association in 2017, and began competing in the ADFA Premier Division League.2018–present
On 20 November 2018, AIFF nominated ARA for proposed inclusion in the 2018–19 2nd Division League. On 7 December, it was announced that ARA FC would be one of nine clubs to play that season. Thus the Ahmedabad-based club became the only team from the state competing in a domestic tier league.In their maiden I-League 2nd Division in the 2018–19 season, ARA finished in fourth place in Group A with 11 points in 8 matches as Lonestar Kashmir progressed to the final round.
They were nominated for participating in the 2021 I-League Qualifiers, by virtue of emerging victorious in Gandhinagar Premier League. They began their journey with a 1–1 draw against Corbett FC on 5 October at the Bangalore Football Stadium but did not advanced to the final round. In February–March 2023, the club participated in Stafford Challenge Cup in Bangalore. In August 2023, ARA gained I-League 3 spot to compete in the inaugural edition.
Home stadium
ARA FC plays its home matches at the EKA Arena, which has a capacity of 20,000 spectators. The stadium is located in Kankaria Lake, Ahmedabad, and has additional 10,000 temporary seats on the pitch area.Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Current squad
Current technical staff
| Position | Name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team manager |  HonoursLeague
Notable playersFor current and former notable ARA FC players with a Wikipedia article, see: ARA FC players.Other departmentsWomen's teamARA FC has its women's football team that competes in the Indian Women's League, the highest division of Indian women's football. Before the kick-off of 2021–22 Indian Women's League season, four teams including ARA Women from four states played each other once in April 2022, in the qualifying round at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi and they qualified for the final round after topping the group.Honours
Football academyFootball Academy of ARA FC gained 'elite category' accreditation by the All India Football Federation in December 2023. |