KOCHI: After the dramatic developments of the past week, with national team coach Khalid Jamil even denied permission to hold a pre-match press conference at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi, the first international football match to be held in Kerala in 10 years has received the green signal.
The decks were cleared for Tuesday’s AFC Asian Cup qualifier between India and Hong Kong after the Kerala Football Association on Monday paid the amount stipulated by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) for the use of the venue.
While football has always been the most-loved sport in Kerala, the actual cost of bringing an international match to the state remains a complicated matter. The GCDA, which owns the stadium, says it is Rs 28 lakh — Rs 25-lakh caution deposit plus Rs 3-lakh rent. But, for the KFA, with an empty wallet, it is not a piece of cake.
Discussions on bringing the India-Hong Kong encounter to Kochi had been on since January as GCDA chairperson K Chandran Pillai had enthusiastically hinted about the match during a press conference with the Kerala Blasters authorities ahead of the ISL season.
With KFA in charge of conducting the game, things were moving well until the money matter messed up the situation. On Thursday, the national team coach was unable to hold the customary pre-match presser at the venue after the GCDA cited pending dues, according to the agreement, in a repeat of the Kerala Blasters logjam earlier this year.
“Discussions were on for the past two months, but we never thought the fund issue would become this big an obstacle as it is a match involving the national team. The association faces a fund crunch, and since the assembly elections were declared, we couldn’t leverage any support from the government at this point either,” KFA president Navas Meeran said.
“Thankfully, the president of the Ernakulam District Sports Council, Dr J Jacob, stepped up and arranged what was needed on his own and we managed to resolve the issue,” he said.
Explaining the urban body’s perspective, Chandran said: “Every agency coming up with a tournament (at the JLN Stadium) needs to have an agreement as a statutory obligation. The KFA has paid the required funds on Monday. They created the issue and settled it later, and in between, some unnecessary uproar occurred. The agreement didn’t happen within the time frame agreed on earlier. That’s all.”
With the dust settled, India will face Hong Kong at the JLN Stadium at 7 pm on Tuesday. This also marks the first international football match to be held in the stadium after the controversial renovation work, initiated last year, to meet international standards.
Happy to play in Kerala: Coach
Meanwhile, having finally managed to step inside the stadium on Monday, India coach Khalid Jamil said the team is ready for the match against Hong Kong.
“Happy to be in Kerala amidst big support from the fans here,” Jamil said, addressing a press conference on the match-eve.
“We are ready for the game. It is an important match. We are looking to finish the tournament on a good note.”
After five matches in the qualifiers, India remain last in the group table with no wins and just two points.
A win against Hong Kong would be a sigh of relief for the team, already out of the qualification race.
Metro ops extended
The Kochi Metro will operate extended and more frequent train services in connection with the India vs Hong Kong match scheduled at JNI Stadium on Tuesday. On the day of the event, the last service from both terminals, Aluva and Tripunithura, will depart at 11pm
Traffic regulations today
People arriving from West Kochi and Vypeen should park their vehicles along the sides of Chathyath Road and utilise public transport to reach the stadium
Vehicles arriving from northern districts have to park vehicles in Aluva region and along the sides of Container Road and utilise transport facilities like Metro to reach the stadium
Vehicles arriving from Idukki, Kottayam and Perumbavoor regions have to park vehicles in Kakkanad and Tripunithura and reach the city utilising public transport
Vehicles arriving from the southern districts have to stop at Vyttila-Kundannoor regions and follow the same
Vehicles moving towards Aluva after 5 pm have to take left turn at Kaloor junction and reach Edappally via Pottakuzhy-Mamangalam Road, BTS Road or Elamakkara Road
Vehicles from Aluva, Edappally, Palarivattom and Kakkanad directions have to reach Ernakulam via Vyttila junction and S A Road