THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram's chances of having its own I-League football club have moved one step closer after the Singapore-based sports management firm MySport Management registered their club with the Kerala Football Association (KFA) the other day.
According to sources, the club will be named Evergreen FC and will have the Greenfield International Stadium, Kariavattom here as their home ground. Jiri Cerny, the CEO of MySport, will visit the stadium on Thursday and hold discussions with the officials of the Kariyavattom Sports Facilities (KSFL) which operates the venue.
"The project is moving fast forward. Our prime focus is on bringing professional football to the city of Thiruvananthapuram. There should be an official club launch within a few days too," Cerny, previously the managing director of Juventus Soccer School in Singapore, told Express on Wednesday.
KFA general secretary P Anilkumar confirmed that the Singapore-based company has been in touch with the association. "They are planning to get a direct entry to the I-Leauge 2017-18 season and looking at the possibility of basing their club in the capital," said Anilkumar.
Cerny had earlier stated that the club will have a budget of Rs 20 crore per season and had plans to start a football academy in the state. All India Football Federation general secretary Kushal Das had also confirmed there was interest from two parties from Kerala -- one from Thiruvananthapuram and the other from Malappuram, possibly Gokulam FC.
However, the KSFL's MoU with the Kerala Cricket Association which runs till 2027 could prove to be a major roadblock in the football club's plans. According to the agreement, the KCA will use the stadium for 180 days a year -- from April 1 to May 30 and from October 1 to January 31 -- which could clash with I-League fixtures starting in November.
"We have to honour the KCA contract and cannot remove the pitch for football once an international cricket match is played at the venue this year," said Anilkumar Pandala, director of KSFL. However, he added that if the KCA fails to bring an international match by November, the KSFL has the provision to terminate the MoU prematurely.
"We will wait and see what will happen with the cricket association before committing to football," Pandala said. Anilkumar of KFA said the club might look at other options -- like Kozhikode and Manjeri in Malappuram -- if the plans to play at the Greenfield Stadium falls through.