Months before FIFA U-17 World Cup, cows, goats graze on training ground in Kochi
It has emerged that cows and goats have turned Kochi Parade Ground, one of the training grounds for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, a grazing field with animals regularly intruding upon the grass.
Kochi’s preparation and commitment for hosting FIFA U-17 World Cup matches have come under the scanner time and again. Although the state Kerala has few of the most ardent football fans in the country, evident from the crowds that throng matches that the Kerala Blasters play in the Indian Super League, the city of Kochi was the most lethargic to get its venue ready. It has now emerged that a herd of cows were grazing at the Kochi Parade Ground, which is one of the assigned training grounds for the tournament.
According the English edition of Malayalam news website Manorama, the Parade Ground has turned a grazing field for cows and goats in the absence of a fence around it. The Parade Ground cannot be fenced permanently due to its standing as a heritage area. In fact, any infrastructure, including dressing rooms and washrooms, can be built only on a temporary basis.
The FIFA U-17 World Cup Local Organising Committee had, on May 19, 2017 declared Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to be fit for hosting the tournament. However, tournament director Javier Ceppi had said that the stadium’s capacity will be brought down to 41,748, instead of the initial 55,000. “The stadium is fit for accommodating 41,748 people. Not a single person more,” Ceppi had said. The tournament starts on October 24 and Kochi is set to host eight matches.
Indian Football: West Bengal government to sign MoU with Netherlands football federation
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeks help from the Dutch for development of football in the eastern India state...
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) on 20th June at The Hague.
As reported in Kolkata-based Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin on Thursday, Banerjee is expected to meet the Dutch Sports Secretary Martin Van Rijn before the All India Trinamool Congress leader partakes in the United Nations Public Service Forum on 22nd and 23rd June.
The exact clauses of the MoU are yet unknown, but it is expected to include exposure programmes for players and coaches from the state. Sources indicate that the MoU will run on similar lines that the All India Football Federation (AIFF), India's FA already has with France, Germany and Japan.
Didi, as Banerjee is affectionately called, is known to harbour a keen interest in sports. Invited by the United Nations, the Bengal CM and her team will reach The Netherlands with ample time in hand to partner up with the European country in the field of sports, arts and commerce.
THE AIFF IS planning to reach out to new areas of the country to showcase the best of Indian football, and two of the potential venues the Federation is looking at are Ahmedabad and Chennai.
The TransStadia Football Stadium has recently come up near the Gujarat capital, a full-featured picturesque 20,000 capacity football-only arena with all the facilities required to host international matches. There are rumours of a new ISL franchise coming up here soon, potentially owned by the Adani Group. But there was no bid submitted from Gujarat for an expansion team in 2017-18 season.
AIFF, however, still wants to prime the Gujarat crowd for future club football by hosting a match at TransStadia featuring the national team. An official close to the NT's operations told TFG that an upcoming international friendly may be held there.
India are scheduled to play an international friendly against Palestine on 2nd October, which will be a prime candidate for TransStadia's first international match, since it also falls on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. There's another international friendly expected to take place in November against Afghanistan.
Chennai, meanwhile, is being considered by AIFF to become a football hub of sorts. And its Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium may get to host the national team soon as AIFF is considering hosting the Champions Cup -- an international tournament meant to replace the erstwhile Nehru Cup -- in that stadium come August.
The whole affair is still not certain, though, as the AIFF is set to have difficulties securing good teams for the approximately 2-week competition since most countries already have their domestic leagues up and running by August. But the aforementioned official assured TFG that the Champions Cup is a big priority for AIFF. Star Sports, who recently became broadcast partners of the national team, want more content in order to showcase the Blue Tigers on their network, and AIFF believe a cup competition in August is a great way to get the players off the summer rust ahead of the Asian Qualifier match away from home against Macau in early September.
So if all goes well, the Indian football fans will get to see a flurry of matches featuring the Indian national team, with their locations strategically meant to expand the Blue Tigers' fanbase.
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Months before FIFA U-17 World Cup, cows, goats graze on training ground in Kochi
It has emerged that cows and goats have turned Kochi Parade Ground, one of the training grounds for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, a grazing field with animals regularly intruding upon the grass.
Kochi’s preparation and commitment for hosting FIFA U-17 World Cup matches have come under the scanner time and again. Although the state Kerala has few of the most ardent football fans in the country, evident from the crowds that throng matches that the Kerala Blasters play in the Indian Super League, the city of Kochi was the most lethargic to get its venue ready. It has now emerged that a herd of cows were grazing at the Kochi Parade Ground, which is one of the assigned training grounds for the tournament.
According the English edition of Malayalam news website Manorama, the Parade Ground has turned a grazing field for cows and goats in the absence of a fence around it. The Parade Ground cannot be fenced permanently due to its standing as a heritage area. In fact, any infrastructure, including dressing rooms and washrooms, can be built only on a temporary basis.
The FIFA U-17 World Cup Local Organising Committee had, on May 19, 2017 declared Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to be fit for hosting the tournament. However, tournament director Javier Ceppi had said that the stadium’s capacity will be brought down to 41,748, instead of the initial 55,000. “The stadium is fit for accommodating 41,748 people. Not a single person more,” Ceppi had said. The tournament starts on October 24 and Kochi is set to host eight matches.
Indian Football: West Bengal government to sign MoU with Netherlands football federation
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeks help from the Dutch for development of football in the eastern India state...
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) on 20th June at The Hague.
As reported in Kolkata-based Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin on Thursday, Banerjee is expected to meet the Dutch Sports Secretary Martin Van Rijn before the All India Trinamool Congress leader partakes in the United Nations Public Service Forum on 22nd and 23rd June.
The exact clauses of the MoU are yet unknown, but it is expected to include exposure programmes for players and coaches from the state. Sources indicate that the MoU will run on similar lines that the All India Football Federation (AIFF), India's FA already has with France, Germany and Japan.
Didi, as Banerjee is affectionately called, is known to harbour a keen interest in sports. Invited by the United Nations, the Bengal CM and her team will reach The Netherlands with ample time in hand to partner up with the European country in the field of sports, arts and commerce.
THE AIFF IS planning to reach out to new areas of the country to showcase the best of Indian football, and two of the potential venues the Federation is looking at are Ahmedabad and Chennai.
The TransStadia Football Stadium has recently come up near the Gujarat capital, a full-featured picturesque 20,000 capacity football-only arena with all the facilities required to host international matches. There are rumours of a new ISL franchise coming up here soon, potentially owned by the Adani Group. But there was no bid submitted from Gujarat for an expansion team in 2017-18 season.
AIFF, however, still wants to prime the Gujarat crowd for future club football by hosting a match at TransStadia featuring the national team. An official close to the NT's operations told TFG that an upcoming international friendly may be held there.
India are scheduled to play an international friendly against Palestine on 2nd October, which will be a prime candidate for TransStadia's first international match, since it also falls on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. There's another international friendly expected to take place in November against Afghanistan.
Chennai, meanwhile, is being considered by AIFF to become a football hub of sorts. And its Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium may get to host the national team soon as AIFF is considering hosting the Champions Cup -- an international tournament meant to replace the erstwhile Nehru Cup -- in that stadium come August.
The whole affair is still not certain, though, as the AIFF is set to have difficulties securing good teams for the approximately 2-week competition since most countries already have their domestic leagues up and running by August. But the aforementioned official assured TFG that the Champions Cup is a big priority for AIFF. Star Sports, who recently became broadcast partners of the national team, want more content in order to showcase the Blue Tigers on their network, and AIFF believe a cup competition in August is a great way to get the players off the summer rust ahead of the Asian Qualifier match away from home against Macau in early September.
So if all goes well, the Indian football fans will get to see a flurry of matches featuring the Indian national team, with their locations strategically meant to expand the Blue Tigers' fanbase.
Eager to see good teams in champions cup. Chennai is slowly becoming a football loving place