The Hindu : Sport / Football : Officials not happy with state of stadium

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Football

Officials not happy with state of stadium

Coimbatore: Disappointment was writ large on the faces of Anil Kamat, the All India Football Federation’s Director of Competitions, and Referees’ Instructor Ravi Shankar, as they treaded the lush green field of the Nehru Stadium here on Monday.

They were obviously upset about the uneven ground conditions and the poor dressing room and toilet facilities at the stadium, which is to host the cluster matches of the Santosh Trophy National football championship later this month.

“The ground is soft and good but uneven in parts. Serious rolling has to be done over the next few days to get it back to shape. The goalposts also need to be replaced,” said Mr. Kamat.

He was convinced that the ground could be completed before the next inspection, scheduled for the third week of May but he was not pleased with the dressing room and toilet facilities. “Something has to be done quickly, otherwise it will be too late,” said Mr. Kamat.

The AIFF Technical Committee Chairman, C.R. Visswanathan, felt the ground was full of red anthills and that it could harm the players.

“It has to be eradicated by a proper pest control agency. Also, the ground is starving of water. It needs maximum watering. At least till the tournament is over it should not be diverted for other purposes,” he said. Mr. Visswanathan, who is also the President of the Coimbatore District Football Association, said the dressing rooms were not up to the mark because no maintenance work had been done.

“Work should be done on a war footing otherwise the city, which has played host to several national tournaments in the past, will cut a sorry figure.” — Sports Reporter

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport