Football fisaco: Green carpet turns brown, organisers turn red
The Nehru Stadium turf, where football matches were to be held, is in a mess.
Only a privileged few will be able to watch football matches during the group stages at the 12th edition of the South Asian Games. Tickets for football, one of the most popular sports in the North-East, are not on sale during this edition of the games because the venue for the men’s event can hold only 1,000 people.
Entry to the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) facility in Paltan Bazaar will be only through complimentary passes but it is not clear to whom these will be distributed to.
This is a result of the football field at the original venue for the group games, the Nehru Stadium in Ulubari — a 10,000-seater — not being ready because in the race against time the company assigned the task of relaying the turf was too generous with use of chemicals, resulting in a brown field.
What was to be a green carpet at the Nehru Stadium field is now dotted with brown patches and mounds of mud are scattered around with ground staff still working on relaying the surface.
“Not only did the grass not grow but the ground turned brown. Only days ago we realised that we will have to shift the venue. The SAI centre facility is essentially a training facility for athletes but now it has been designated to host men’s football group matches,” a top organising committee official said.
Wooden stands coming up at SAI centre in Paltan Bazaar.
At the SAI facility in Paltan Bazaar, a three-tier wooden rafter is being assembled by workers, the only stand from which those who get passes will be able to watch football. The Nehru Stadium is equipped with floodlight towers and bucket seats have also been fixed in certain sections for the South Asian Games. The Nehru Stadium is also scheduled to host I-League matches this season.
Sports Authority of India director general Injeti Srinivas admitted that it will be difficult to ‘replicate’ the atmosphere at the Nehru Stadium at the SAI facility.
“The Nehru Stadium is a beautiful and large venue. However, unfortunately because the turf is not ready on time we have to shift the men’s football to the SAI stadium. The downside is that we will not be able to sell tickets for football and only complimentary passes will be issued,” Srinivas said.
To try and placate the fans, the organising committee had planned to install large LCD screens in and around Paltan Bazaar, however even that have come to nought because the narrow roads around the stadium are chock-a-block.
