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Kerala's push to host India vs West Indies ODI in football pitch angers football fans

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The decision made by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to award the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) the right to host a One Day International match between India and West Indies in November could lead to a potential clash between the state cricket and football associations

KCA has indicated that it would like to host the fixture in Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium. This stadium has hosted ODI matches in the past; the last match held here was in 2014.

In the recent years, Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium has hosted football matches and is also the home stadium to the Kerala Blasters FC in the Indian Super League.

Club officials and football fans in the state are decidedly unimpressed by this turn of events. The team’s star striker CK Vineeth took to Twitter to register his displeasure against the rumoured move and questioned why a football pitch needed to be dug up to play a cricket match.

CK Vineeth :-

Over the course of this week, I have read various reports that the turf at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium will be dug up to help facilitate the ODI cricket match between India and West Indies. For many different reasons, I feel this is wrong. #SaveKochiTurf pic.twitter.com/Y1RCm14Shd

Vineeth’s words were echoed by a number of Blasters’ players, including Rino Anto and Iain Hume, who also took to social media to denounce the idea of their home stadium playing host to a cricket match.

Rino Anto :-

We players spend 90 minutes on the pitch. FIFA officials come and go. Fans come, shout and leave. But throughout the year, there are men and women who spend countless hours under the sun making sure that our stage is set. Let’s not do this to them. #SaveKochiTurf


A cricket match at the stadium would mean that the football pitch prepared for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017 will be changed to create the pitch for the cricket match.

“This is not just a stadium for us, this is our home,” said Amal, a Kochi-based football fan as well as a member of Manjappada. “Just to organize one day of cricket, why would you ruin a world-class football pitch which has been appreciated by international players. Also, there is another stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, which has better facilities for cricket.”

The game scheduled for November 1, 2018, also comes around the time Kerala Blasters will be involved in the 2018-19 ISL season.

The last international cricket game awarded to Kerala was played at the recently opened Greenfield International Stadium in Karivattom, Thiruvananthapuram. It hosted a T20 international between India and New Zealand in November 2017 and earned plaudits for managing to pull off an 8-over-a-side game in spite of rain.

However, it appears that the KCA is unwilling to host the game in Thiruvananthapuram again. "It was a one-off decision to play in the capital city as we had to respect the FIFA regulations. We will definitely want to conduct the ODI in Kochi now that the World Cup is over," said Ronklin John, KCA president speaking to The New IndianExpress.

Cricket enthusiasts in Thiruvanananthapuram started a social media campaign, meanwhile, to bring the issue to MP Shashi Tharoor’s notice. It appeared to have worked as Tharoor announced on Twitter that he had spoken to Controller and Auditor General Vinod Rai about the KCA’s ‘bizarre’ decision to move the match from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi.


Shashi Tharoor :-

Spoke to CoA Chief VinodRai to denounce Kerala Cricket Assn's bizarre decision to transfer the India-WI ODI from a match-ready Trivandrum stadium to Kochi, whose ground was last used for the U17 Football World Cup. He has promised to review the matter. KCA motives highly suspect


https://www.thenewsminute.com/artic...sters-home-stadium-angers-football-fans-78227
 
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I am from Kochi and i think it should not be given the chance for couple of reasons

1) Firstly it is a football ground.
2) Although the atmosphere will be great , the stadium is an old concrete jungle with very poor facilities .

The Greenfield stadium in Trivandrum is an amazing world class stadium. Love to watch another match on that ground.
 
I hope it's retained for football. I don't want this FIFA standard turf to be destroyed for some meaningless IND-WI odi. That too when there is a good International cricket stadium in Trivandrum....
 
Disgusting stuff
When u have got 50 international stadiums, what's the need to doing this nonsense
 
I’ve been to both stadiums and know how things work in Kerala better than many people who live there.

I’ve told you about the Mumbai lobby. Now let me introduce you to the Kochi lobby. There is a strong lobby in Kochi which is behind all this. Most of the politicians come from that area too and this lobby has its base in a particular religion which is neither Islam or Hinduism. The lobby is so strong that they’re planning to build a separate cricket stadium in Kochi! Kerala is a peanut sized state.

The lobby wants the PSL + international cricket in Kochi.

KCA seems to be having some other interests too. Creating a good wicket there is going to cost a lot of money and it’s a good opportunity for them to make some money too. You know what I mean.

The Trivandrum international stadium is among the best in India. Its drain system is much better than Kochi’s. Even a small rain can cause issues in the Kochi stadium.

Heard that Sanju Samson is opening a cricket academy or something like that in Trivandrum.
 
I’ve been to both stadiums and know how things work in Kerala better than many people who live there.

I’ve told you about the Mumbai lobby. Now let me introduce you to the Kochi lobby. There is a strong lobby in Kochi which is behind all this. Most of the politicians come from that area too and this lobby has its base in a particular religion which is neither Islam or Hinduism. The lobby is so strong that they’re planning to build a separate cricket stadium in Kochi! Kerala is a peanut sized state.

The lobby wants the PSL + international cricket in Kochi.

KCA seems to be having some other interests too. Creating a good wicket there is going to cost a lot of money and it’s a good opportunity for them to make some money too. You know what I mean.

The Trivandrum international stadium is among the best in India. Its drain system is much better than Kochi’s. Even a small rain can cause issues in the Kochi stadium.

Heard that Sanju Samson is opening a cricket academy or something like that in Trivandrum.

Man are u serious
PSL, bhai theek hou tum
 
Man are u serious
PSL, bhai theek hou tum

Sorry man. Typo error. ISL. The football league. Kochi is the home of Kerala blasters team in the Indian Super League.
 
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Sorry man. Typo error. ISL. The football league. Kochi is the home of Kerala blasters team in the Indian Super League.

Haha np
Thought u meant IPL.
Have watched few games of KB and atmosphere at Kochi is electric
 
I’ve been to both stadiums and know how things work in Kerala better than many people who live there.

I’ve told you about the Mumbai lobby. Now let me introduce you to the Kochi lobby. There is a strong lobby in Kochi which is behind all this. Most of the politicians come from that area too and this lobby has its base in a particular religion which is neither Islam or Hinduism. The lobby is so strong that they’re planning to build a separate cricket stadium in Kochi! Kerala is a peanut sized state.

The lobby wants the PSL + international cricket in Kochi.

KCA seems to be having some other interests too. Creating a good wicket there is going to cost a lot of money and it’s a good opportunity for them to make some money too. You know what I mean.

The Trivandrum international stadium is among the best in India. Its drain system is much better than Kochi’s. Even a small rain can cause issues in the Kochi stadium.

Heard that Sanju Samson is opening a cricket academy or something like that in Trivandrum.

where did the kochi ipl team play its matches

also.... how far is this trivandrum from kochi
 
where did the kochi ipl team play its matches

also.... how far is this trivandrum from kochi

Kochi team played at the Kochi stadium itself. It is an old concrete stadium. Very poor.

Kochi to Trivandrum will be 200 odd km. Five and a half hour drive.
 
This is epic buffonery. Play the match in trivandrum. That stadium was built for cricket.
 
It could only be some local political powerplay at work. Otherwise Trivandrum has both the stadium as well as appetite for cricket. The new stadium in the city needs as many matches as possible.

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So football fans, can you maintain ground? nah. you should thanks KCA to allow football matches there. instead they're whining. disgraceful stuff from them.
 
India Vs West Indies, in India, won;t be a close game, India will be too strong for WI.
 
Kerala is big in football and it is not necessary at all for the BCCI.
 
Kerala is big in football and it is not necessary at all for the BCCI.

Kerala is big in football . But it is huge for cricket as well. Kochi stadium had a capacity of 80000 earlier and it was always overfilled whenever there was cricket. People from all over the state flocked over. Its IPL team had huge following. So yeah , being huge in football does not mean cricket is a side show. It is just media exaggeration.
 
Lot of cricket stadiums in India but still the need is to play on football ground that too which is FIFA cetified. India already has a very few football world class stadiums.....

On behalf of the facilities in India due to FIFA U17 WC, they can think of capturing more tournaments of AFC/World but if this happens, I dont think they will lget anything
 
When their is a cricket stadium why destroying a football stadium of FIFA standards, that too for WI game

The atmosphere in trivandrum stadium was overwhelming last time and same about the quality of the ground too
 
So football fans, can you maintain ground? nah. you should thanks KCA to allow football matches there. instead they're whining. disgraceful stuff from them.

How do you know they can't maintain the ground. It is the home ground for Kerala blasters. Nothing disgraceful about it, football ground should be used for football especially when you have a cricket stadium in the state.
 
UPDATE: The match will be held in Sports Hub Trivandrum. They gave in to pressure from all sides!
 
Demolish the football stadium and erect a cricket stadium. It is high time these people are brought into the mainstream.
 
How do you know they can't maintain the ground. It is the home ground for Kerala blasters. Nothing disgraceful about it, football ground should be used for football especially when you have a cricket stadium in the state.

bcz they say so!
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Worried about the potential damage to the FIFA approved World class Football turf in Kochi. Urge the KCA to take the right decision where cricket (Thiruvananthapuram) and Football (Kochi) can happily coexist. <a href="https://t.co/rs5eZmhFDP">pic.twitter.com/rs5eZmhFDP</a></p>— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) <a href="https://twitter.com/sachin_rt/status/976104260478779392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Worried about the potential damage to the FIFA approved World class Football turf in Kochi. Urge the KCA to take the right decision where cricket (Thiruvananthapuram) and Football (Kochi) can happily coexist. <a href="https://t.co/rs5eZmhFDP">pic.twitter.com/rs5eZmhFDP</a></p>— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) <a href="https://twitter.com/sachin_rt/status/976104260478779392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Showing class as usual.
 
Malayalis whining as usual. BCCI should simply move the match to some other stadium in a different state. We have like hundreds of them already.
 
Who says what?

6rBU3.jpg


this article says KFA can't afford it while ISL or Blasters are not interested in it.
 
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Malayalis whining as usual. BCCI should simply move the match to some other stadium in a different state. We have like hundreds of them already.

I don't see this as whining. Kerala is one of the few indian states that actively promotes soccer and also has fans and teams that respect and play the game. Nothing wrong with not wanting to have cricket played on a soccer stadium. Besides cricket is a dying game and mocked big time around the world especially in countries like US where i live. It gets a little annoying in the states when you hear comments like "isnt cricket the game that goes on for days ?" "Isnt cricket the game where you have tea breaks in between ? "

The only reason Indians in general are just crazy about cricket is because its one of the very few games that Indians are kinda good at. This is whats in reality a sad fact and what one should really be whining about. Indians should be hoping against hope that India can line up a quality soccer team in the future. And not just soccer but promote other games the world plays like basketball, rugby and such.
 
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Besides cricket is a dying game and mocked big time around the world especially in countries like US where i live. It gets a little annoying in the states when you hear comments like "isnt cricket the game that goes on for days ?" "Isnt cricket the game where you have tea breaks in between ? "

"Meanwhile, tell us about the global sports you play."
 
I don't see this as whining. Kerala is one of the few indian states that actively promotes soccer and also has fans and teams that respect and play the game. Nothing wrong with not wanting to have cricket played on a soccer stadium. Besides cricket is a dying game and mocked big time around the world especially in countries like US where i live. It gets a little annoying in the states when you hear comments like "isnt cricket the game that goes on for days ?" "Isnt cricket the game where you have tea breaks in between ? "

The only reason Indians in general are just crazy about cricket is because its one of the very few games that Indians are kinda good at. This is whats in reality a sad fact and what one should really be whining about. Indians should be hoping against hope that India can line up a quality soccer team in the future. And not just soccer but promote other games the world plays like basketball, rugby and such.
For a guy who used to disguise himself as a Pakistani troll to help make India win through anti jinxes, it's bit rich coming from you.
 
As a Malayali from Kochi there are few things about this issue :
  • Kochi sits in the middle of Kerala and has good connectivity to nearby big cities (Bangalore, Chennai <10hrs by road) . So for cricket fans, both from nearby states as well as Kerala's hilly northern districts, have it MUCH easier coming to Kochi compared to Trivandrum, which is at the bottom end of the state (country)
  • The Kochi stadium was bulit as dual purpose. So back when there was no football (like ISL) , it survived on hosting events and the very rare ODI awarded to it from the BCCI. Now that the ISL is established and there is a steady source of revenue, kochi stadium is in a position to exist solely as a Football only stadium.
  • Historically Kerala has very little influence over the BCCI and has been rarely awarded matches. The present (or previous) KCA chairman (Kochi based Christian Lobby , as someone mentioned above) was on good terms during Srini Mama's reign, and had started working towards getting "test status" for the ground. The KCA (kerala cricket association) , had entered into a long term contract with the Ground to pay for maintenance and upkeep and all that . But all that changed once ISL made it big.
  • Obviously this is a power play by the KCA, who are known to be quite corrupt. The Kochi based lobby that controls Kerala cricket can make more money from hosting it at kochi than TVM, where they need to pay a much higher rent to the greenfied Stadium owners. While restructuring the pitch (which is NOT going to be a Drop In, like in Austrsalian grounds) , will also help them swallow some money on the side.
 
It could only be some local political powerplay at work. Otherwise Trivandrum has both the stadium as well as appetite for cricket. The new stadium in the city needs as many matches as possible.

Trivandrum is accessible to the southern half of Tamil Nadu . And kerala is cricket starved anyway, so capacity crowds are guaranteed.

Didn't knew there are so many Keralites on this forum!


We infiltrate all foreign locations. If this forum was "GulfPassion", it'll be full of us, pretending to be all sorts of nationalities. :)))
 
I dont get it, why can’t BCCI host matches in Navi Mumbai. I dont think India have played any games recently in that part of Mumbai. They always host games in outdated and poorly maintained Brabournce or Wankhede, but ignores the state of the art stadium in Navi Mumbai.
 
In south africa the Durban soccer stadium also hosts cricket matches and it was built for the fifa world cup, I don't think it's a big deal.
 
I like the kochi stadium, it has a unique design and the crowd capacity there is also huge, too bad it won't be hosting cricket matches, it rarely gets the chance to host a cricket match in the first place
 
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