The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : The ball is in the authorities’ court

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

The ball is in the authorities’ court

Avinash Nair

It may be a beautiful game but football needs some serious investment

Official optimistic about release of funds
Matches hit owing to water logging in palying arena

— Photo: K.Bhagya Prakash

Crying for attention: The Karnataka State Football Association ground in Bangalore which lacks infrastructure.

Bangalore: It was difficult to say whether Bangalore made football proud… or football made Bangalore prouder! The sheer brilliance of the players from the bygone era — Vajravel, Shanmugham, Ahmed Khan and many more — and the tales they could recount to their grandchildren.

But sadly, all this is in the past tense. The most sought-after football tournament in the south — the Stanford Cup — is history and so is talent. The much hyped HASC (Hindustan Aeronautics Sports Club) and the now defunct ITI football team barely made the numbers in the national scene.

Why this downward trend? Well, blame it on the poor infrastructure and lack of incentives for footballers.

But A.R. Khaleel, President of the Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) and executive member of South Zone in the All India Football Federation (AIFF), is optimistic. “The FIFA Goal Project is soon to be a reality. The cost of the project is Rs 2.5 crore, of which KSFA will have to put in the initial 50 per cent. That amount has been mobilised and we are in the process of getting some more. The FIFA grant of Rs. 1 crore is available, but will reach us only after the initial amount from the host association is realised. We are waiting for the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s clearance (for the southern gallery) which is due some time this week,” says Mr. Khaleel.

“Once the funds are available, the gallery will come up on the southern wing of the football stadium with the FIFA Academy housed below them. And along with it there will be overall uplift of the stadium.”

The local league in progress has been badly hit due to water-logging on the playing arena. More than 10 playing days have been lost in the Super Division matches which commenced from August 16, and with 15 teams in the fray the league in the first place was expected to extend for over three months.

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