FeatureWe Love You Liverpool: Meet Official LFC Supporters Club... Kolhapur

The Reds’ fanbase is famous for its passion and loyalty, cheering on both Jürgen Klopp and Matt Beard’s squads whether on Merseyside or watching from afar.

Our We Love You Liverpool feature aims to bring supporters closer together to learn more about each other wherever they are based around the globe.

Whether in the UK and Republic of Ireland, on Merseyside itself, in North or South America, Africa, Asia, Australia or elsewhere, fans provide the very foundations that the club is built on.

Here, we meet OLSC Kolhapur...

Firstly, can you introduce yourself - tell us a little a bit about who you are and where you are from...

I am Mayur Kesarkar, co-founder, and chairman of OLSC Kolhapur. I come from Kolhapur, India and I have been following Liverpool for more than a decade now.

Tell us about OLSC Kolhapur…

In 2014, OLSC Kolhapur started as a small group of Liverpool fans who came together to see matches. Slowly we started to grow and got our official status in 2017. Currently we have more than 50 members from Kolhapur and the nearby region.

How special is it to have a feel of Liverpool despite being in Kolhapur? What makes it a great OLSC to be a part of?

By being part of the OLSC network, it gives us the chance to be closer to Liverpool. It gives us representation at global level as Liverpool supporters. Also locally, it gives us the feeling of togetherness that only LFC fans can give you.

Do you hold any special events throughout the season, or meet-ups for games?

We come together regularly for matchday screenings where our members watch games. Also, we regularly arrange footie meet-ups for our members. OLSC Kolhapur is very proudly active on the social front and also locally where we do charity work regularly.

What is so unique about being a Liverpool supporter for your members?

The mutual feeling of emotional connection with the club is unique for our supporters. We understand the values of the club and each fan is extremely passionate about Liverpool.

Why do you think Liverpool fans - no matter where they are from around the world - are so passionate and loyal to the club?

Irrespective of where we come from, our fans are one of the most loyal supporters in the world. We live thousands of miles away from Anfield, but we think about our club probably for our whole life. No matter how our team does on the pitch, we always stay together and support our club.

How do you bring ‘Anfield’ to Kolhapur?

We arrange regular matchdays where most Liverpool supporters turn up in club colours. It’s like a small ‘Kop’ away from Anfield.

Has the OLSC ever visited Anfield? If not, is it on your list of things to do?

None of our local members have visited Anfield yet. I personally want to go to Anfield just like every other supporter from our OLSC. Standing in the Kop and singing Liverpool songs in our loudest voice is a dream of everyone here. We are sure that one day most of us will be able to fulfil it at least once in our lifetime.

How has it been to follow the club in recent history? There has been plenty to cheer about under Jürgen Klopp and Matt Beard…

After some challenging years earlier, the Reds are doing superbly on and off the pitch. Jürgen has been that one man who led us from the front and helped us back to our glory days that every supporter craves. Winning the Premier League and Champions League under him has resulted in some of the best days of our lives. Also, we have witnessed some truly special European nights - like against Barcelona - which will be forever in our hearts.

If anyone is interested in joining your OLSC, how would they go about doing so?

We encourage LFC supporters from our region to attend matchday screenings with us. Before any game we put information on our social media handles for fans so that they can join us.

Finally, is there anything else you’d like to mention?

We come from a small city in India, which has huge football fan following. Though our journey has been extremely different because, compared to other clubs, Liverpool fans were less in numbers. We started as two or three people coming together but over the years we have kept adding more numbers.

Also, our fans try to follow anything Liverpool whenever we get chance. We together have attended LFC World events, and met some of the legends like Robbie Fowler, Luis Garcia and Sami Hyypia - we also presented them with our local specialty footwear, which is called ‘Kolhapuri Chappal’.

OLSC info

Name: OLSC Kolhapur

Location: Kolhapur, India

Home: Café Fambam

Facebook: lfckolhapur

Twitter: @LFCKolhapur

Instagram: @LFCKolhapur