GCDA threatens to deny allotment of Kochi stadium for Indian football team

The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), a statutory body under the state government that owns the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium (JNI) in Kochi, has threatened to ruin the much-awaited return of international football to Kerala after 10 years.

India are set to play Hong Kong in a third round match of the AFC Asian Cup qualifier at the JNI on March 31. However, on Saturday (March 28), the GCDA threatened to cancel the venue allotment for the match if the Kerala Football Association (KFA) did not remit a hefty security deposit of ₹25 lakh by the next working day.

“... based on meetings with KFA office bearers, led by the GCDA chairman, it was decided to fix a rent of ₹3 lakh and a security deposit of ₹25 lakh. Based on this, the official allotment was given to the KFA on March 23 .... if the security deposit is not remitted before 1 pm on March 30, the allotment and the agreement will be deemed cancelled," the GCDA said in a statement on Saturday.

The KFA should be aware that the GCDA's words cannot be taken lightly because on March 26, the organisation's security staff denied stadium entry to the Indian team's head coach, Khalid Jamil and his players when they arrived for a press conference. The Indian team has yet to set foot on the 'home' ground and has been training at a facility of the Kerala Blasters.

Last month, the GCDA evicted Kerala Blasters from the stadium for failing to pay a 'liability amount' of ₹22,85,359 on time. The GCDA's refusal to relent almost led to the cancellation of the Blasters' first home match of the Indian Super League season.

KFA's shocker
While it is rare for a national team's head coach and players to be kept out of a 'home' ground ahead of an international fixture, the first shock wave was felt by the KFA, which is the host of the event.

"Normally, when an Indian team plays, a lot of things are taken care of by the state government. So we did not expect things to turn out this way," said KFA President Navas Meeran.

He, however, sounded hopeful of an amicable solution. "There is no point blaming anyone. We have paid the rent amount and the security deposit will be made on Monday. So everything should be fine. We hope more international football matches come to Kerala," Meeran told Onmanorama.

The GCDA has maintained that a security deposit was necessary even if it was a one-off match. "It is the GCDA's responsibility to protect the turf and other fixtures and fittings inside the stadium. To preserve these valuables, a security deposit is vital," the GCDA said in its statement.

The GCDA secretary told Onmanorama that its agreement with KFA was from March 25 to April 1. "The security deposit will be refunded after accounting for the liabilities estimated by our engineering department," said the secretary.

A technical hurdle
Both India and Hong Kong have training sessions scheduled at JNI on March 30. India will train from 6 pm to 7 pm and Hong Kong have been allotted the 7.30-8.30 pm slot. The mandatory pre-match press conferences are scheduled to start at 5 pm on March 30.

Though the KFA is certain the match will go ahead without any trouble once it makes the payment on Monday, it fears the GCDA could still cause embarrassment when the Match Commissioner visits the venue on Sunday.

"The final inspection is on the eve of the match (March 30), but as part of the protocol, the match commissioner could inspect the venue a day before as well. Ideally, there should be no problem with the venue because it is an ISL venue and match operations happen here regularly," said a KFA official.

The KFA is hoping the GCDA security would not stop the Match Commissioner at the gate when he arrives for inspection on March 29, when the security deposit would still be unpaid.