In what could be construed as a strong indictment of Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Kerala Blasters, the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) has accused the franchise of indulging in defamatory misinformation campaign against it with vested interests.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, GCDA Chairman V. Salim said that Kerala Blasters was yet to rectify the wear and tear to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium valued at ₹48.89 lakh, including the outstanding amount from the previous season.
“The GCDA had given its consent to conduct the matches this year after Kerala Blasters promised to undertake maintenance work at their own expense before the start of the sixth season.
However, they failed to keep their word and instead published pictures of shortcomings of the stadium,” Mr. Salim accused in the statement.
Complimentary passes
He said the GCDA no longer needed complimentary passes for the matches in the wake of a complaint by the franchise that it inflicted huge loss on it. The statement termed the allegation that the GCDA had forcefully collected complimentary passes as baseless. Instead, the authority only distributed complimentary passes to organisations and individuals on the direction of the franchise.
Though two matches were already over, Kerala Blasters has not yet bothered to enter into an agreement with the GCDA, which should have been in place before the beginning of the season. The stadium is rented at ₹6 lakh for a match and after two matches the franchise owed ₹2.16 lakh towards outstanding rent. The statement also shot down Kerala Blasters’ claim that it had paid ₹7 crore annually to the GCDA for the upkeep of the stadium, saying that the franchise had not spent over ₹78 lakh, which included the rent, maintenance of turf, and power and water charges.
Besides, the GCDA allotted the stadium for free for a month for goal keeping sessions and another five days for conducting trials.
The ground in front, which fetched the development authority ₹1.10 lakh a day, was also provided for free on match days.
On Kerala Blasters’ charge that the GCDA had collected ₹1 crore as security deposit from it, the statement said it was collected from all parties, and that it was justified by the dues that the franchise owed to the authority by way of wear and tear.
Access to stadium
Mr. Salim reminded the team that they were able to become part of the ISL on the strength of the certificate issued by the GCDA stating that they had access to a stadium for conducting matches any time. He further accused Kerala Blasters of deliberately raking up controversies, which were non-existent during the previous five seasons. The franchise should desist from such misleading and defamatory campaigns against the GCDA, he said.
