D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Photo: Vishnu V. NairMumbai: As six cities across the country are ready to host the FIFA-17 World Cup between October 6 and 28, the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai has set an example worth emulating for all the other venues by putting in place top-class facilities for the prestigious event.
With the renovation and refurbishment of the existing facilities, the venue appears to be quite breathtaking and absolutely world class. A stunning new synthetic grass turf, foreign-made fabric gallery roof, chairs imported from South Korea, and dressing rooms of international standards have made it the best and most-prepared venue of the tournament. Works on a state-of-the-art media room is nearing competition.
The credit for this stunning makeover should go to D.Y. Patil Sports Academy president Vijay Patil as all the preparations are done under his direct supervision. He is the son of D.Y. Patil, Congress leader and former governor of Tripura, Bengal and Bihar.
Notably, D.Y. Patil Sports Stadium is the only private venue which got the nod to host the U-17 World Cup matches. The facility, inaugurated on March 4, 2008, has been the home ground for IPL team Mumbai Indians and ISL franchise Mumbai City FC. Though the seats and the roof were not too old to be replaced, the local organizers wanted the stadium to have a brand new look for the mega event.
Former Test cricketer Abey Kuruvilla, who is the academy director, is also busy overseeing the preparations.
Of the four training grounds, two – D.Y. Patil Cricket Ground and D.Y. Patil Football Ground – are within in the stadium. The remaining two facilities, Yashwantrao Chavan Maidan and the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation Football Ground, are also ready.
The renovation works at the main venue were carried out at a cost of Rs 20 crore. The organizers are also planning advertising and promotional campaigns in coordination with the Maharashtra government to give wide publicity to the tournament.
One lakh footballs have been distributed in over 30,000 schools across Maharashtra as part of the ‘Mission Million’ initiative. The sports ministry will have 10 lakh students from these schools play football on September 8 as part of the project aimed at promoting the beautiful game at the school level.
Special programs and competitions for students based on U-17 World Cups will also be conducted. Civic authorities have announced that the buses under the Navi Mumbai municipal corporation would be decorated with World Cup-themed designs and slogans soon.
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