KOCHI: One venue and two popular games. The Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium stands gleaming in Kaloor. But the dreams of football, the most popular game in Kerala, and cricket — looking to usurp the popularity title from football, are on a collision course.And the only remedy — an exclusive stadium for either of the two mass sports — seems to be sliding away into the distance, like the shifting horizon. The only quality venue currently available in the state for both is the renovated J N Stadium. On the one hand is football, with Kerala once being the nursery of the nations’ best talents but now a pale shadow of the past, and on the other side is cricket, having the potential to grow on a par with the elite.Ranji MatchesAccordingly, KCA — which has taken the stadium on a five-year lease from its owner, the Greater Cochin Development Authority — has gone ahead with preparations to host four Ranji Trophy matches allotted to Kerala this season. The first match is slated to begin on November 10 while the last one ends on December 9. Chirag’s DilemmaKerala’s only I-League side, Chirag Kerala, too are desperately in search of a venue to hold its home games with their campaign tentatively scheduled to kick off on October 22 with an away game. Which effectively means that there is a conflict of interest between the two.The only way out would then be for Chirag to look for alternative venues, at least for matches slotted during the period when Ranji Trophy matches are on in Kochi.Chirag managing director P Bhaskaran told ‘City Express’ the club may even have to play at a venue outside the state. “We are in talks with the Kerala Football Association to see if we can play our home matches at the Nehru Stadium when there are no cricket matches,” Bhaskaran said.“The first three or four home matches will definitely have to be played away from Kochi. We have the University Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram as one of the options. But it requires approval from the All India Football Federation. Otherwise, we may even have to play outside Kerala. In that case Bangalore is the nearest.” That’s the pitiable condition of a Kochi-based club registered under the Ernakulam District Football Association.However, Bhaskaran said that Chirag are hopeful of playing at least half of their 13 home matches in Kochi. “We are trying to get the stadium for matches from December onwards. But if the IPL matches begin in April, we will have to move away again. The I-League usually ends only in May.”KCA StandOn their part, the KCA is willing to hand over the stadium for top class football matches.“We are only too happy to help football,” KCA secretary T C Mathew told ‘City Express’. “It is clearly stated in the agreement between KCA and GCDA that the stadium will be made available for top class football matches when cricket matches are not scheduled.” However, the bottom line is the preparation for both games are different, with the wickets in the middle of the field being too significant a part of cricket to be neglected. And hence, the desperation from the two associations to have stadiums of their own.
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