KOCHI: Kochi was the first city to be officially declared as the venue for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in October 2016. This news had created a wave of euphoria then. But soon the excitement gave way for anxiety and apprehension as the organisers found it difficult to maintain the pace of construction works to match the deadline. So much so that FIFA Head of Tournaments, Jaime Yarza, after a visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which is the venue, and four training venues, didn’t hide his displeasure over the slow-paced preparatory works and said the matter was of deep concern. The outburst prompted the then Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel to undertake a hurried visit to the state to take stock of the situation.
A lot of water has flown under the bridge after that. Now Kochi is ready to host the mega event. The works are almost over at the Nehru stadium. What is left is a bit of facelift, like painting and other beautification works which would be completed soon.
Opened in 1996, the stadium had an outdated and clogged sewage system and the bathrooms and the field of play was not in a great condition. The stadium which had hosted several ODIs and ISL matches did not have a proper fire fighting system installed to tackle any contingency. The work had to begin from scratch. Now the ground looks green and other allied facilities are well in place. Nodal officer APM Mohammed Hanish said almost `60 crore has been spent to upgrade facilities. “We had to go through procedures to award a contract and then start work. Almost `47.5 crore has been spent on the stadium and four training venues. Another `12.5 crore has been spent on beautification works like laying pathways, lighting etc,” he said.
As the stadium does not have proper evacuation routes for the third tier gallery, it would remain out of bounds for spectators. So, the seating capacity will be reduced from 55000 to 41,748 or even less taking into account safety. However, certain concerns regarding training venues at Veli and Parade Ground are still to be allayed. Sources said the playing surface is yet to be levelled properly and FIFA’s consultants are being roped in to address the issue.
