KOCHI: On most evenings, kids and adults used to gather at the Diego Football Park — one of the most sought-after artificial football turfs in Thiruvananthapuram. But this was before the pandemic struck. Now, the social distancing norms and lockdown restrictions have brought a temporary halt to the football fever in the state, with players choosing to stay indoors.
“We started the turf nearly two years ago when there were no turfs in the city. Though we had to overcome a lot of hurdles with regard to funding, we went through with it. Nearly 50 per cent of our clients were techies working at various companies in Technopark. However, since work from home was introduced last year, many have gone back home. Those that stayed back, especially families, are reluctant to come out because of the pandemic threat,” said Jimmy Joy, one of the owners of Diego Football Park.
Currently, the state has more than 300 artificial turfs for both football and cricket. With the pandemic situation continuing, many turf owners like Jimmy are thinking of ways to stay afloat, while others are contemplating shutting down. “State-of-the-art infrastructure at our turf features two five-a-sides and one seven-a-side field and was designed to meet FIFA 2 Star certification according to the FIFA Quality Concept for Football Turf. It also comes with high rent,” says Jimmy.
Apart from Diego Football Park, more than 70 artificial football turfs have come up in Thiruvananthapuram over the past few years. Kozhikode district alone has close to 200 artificial football turfs, followed by Thrissur which has close to 100. lexander Pereira of Accube Soccer Arena in Puthenthope says that before the pandemic, the turf used to function from 6am to 12pm. “But now, it is functioning only till 10am and only a few players come in. The lights and CCTV cameras got damaged from being shut for too long and we had to replace everything. A single light costs around `3,000,” he says.
All the turfs have introduced safety measures such as hand sanitisers and imposed strict time restrictions. Tingston Thomas, the owner of Heyniz Sports and Fitness, Thrissur, said, “It has been two weeks since we reopened but we are getting only a few bookings. We are adhering strictly to Covid protocol. The maintenance cost is also high, so we cannot keep it closed. We hope to overcome this crisis soon,” he says.