GCDA stadium for football

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The state on Wednesday decided to give the Ambedkar Stadium under the jurisdiction of Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) to the Kerala Football Association (KFA) to be used exclusively for football.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by the sports minister, Mr KB Ganesh Kumar, and attended by officials of GCDA, legislators Hibi Eden and K. Babu and director of sports and youth affairs, Dr Amit Mallick, in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

GCDA has been advised to serve a letter to KFA about the procedures involved. If KFA agrees to the terms and conditions, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed between them.

“Once the MoU is signed, KFA will be allowed to use the stadium for its activities. The venue will not be given for any non-sports purpose. The ownership will, however, remain with GCDA,” said the GCDA chairman, N. Venugopal.

Though the move has been welcomed by KFA, there are doubts being raised about certain clauses likely to be put in the MoU. This would include allowing the football body to use the venue for just 140 days a year.

“We will have to study what the restrictions are once they give the letter. If it is given for football it must be exclusively for football and that must be for 365 days.

So, nothing has yet been finalised,” said KFA secretary Anil Kumar. The association is planning to roll out a state-of-the-art football turf. FIFA has agreed to spend the amount for this.

The development, however, becomes highly relevant as India is bidding to host the Under-17 football World Cup and Kochi could be one of the lucky venues.