The Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) has laid the blame for the delay in reconstruction of Bangalore Football Stadium (BFS) on Jindal Steel Works (JSW).
The city faces a race against time to get BFS ready to host the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup matches. JSW, the parent company of I-League football club Bengaluru FC, was originally tasked with the work, but the business conglomerate has since backed out.
Fresh tenders were issued by the KSFA, which accepted a bid from Ozone Group in July this year. However, work is yet to begin, as final approval from the State government is awaited.
On Sunday, KSFA President A.R. Khaleel said that JSW launched Bengaluru FC as a professional club in 2013. “At the time, they wrote to us stating that they will rebuild the BFS. Until February 2014, letters were going back and forth between the KSFA and JSW. They resorted to delaying, delaying and more delaying tactics. Two years of valuable time has passed. If we had known earlier that JSW is not interested, we could have given the work to someone else. JSW is 100 per cent responsible for this delay," he said.
It may be recalled that FIFA officials had stated venues must be ready nine to 12 months before the start of the mega event.
Speaking about Bengaluru's chances, Project Director Joy Bhattacharya had told The Hindu that unless construction work begins by January 2016, the city will not make the cut. KSFA patron N.A. Haris, meanwhile, chose to retain an optimistic view. "The rebuilding work will start any time now. We are all prepared, and are eagerly awaiting approval from the government," he said.
The Shantinagar MLA explained that the deal with Ozone Group will be hugely beneficial for football in the State. "We have given Ozone Group 100 days per year to conduct commercial activities in our facility. In return, they will give us Rs. 675 crore over the course of 30 years. Yes, we are trying our best to get the stadium ready, but it is not our only priority. The main goal is to get a world-class stadium. Once we achieve this, many generations of football lovers will benefit," he said.
