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KSFA's plea to AIFF to reverse fixtures

Bangalore: With work on the artificial pitch being laid at the Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) stadium not expected to conclude till the end of the year, I-League fixtures at Bangalore will be subject to some reordering.

HAL – the city's only representative in the top tier of Indian football – might be forced to play three of its matches at the Sree Kanteerava stadium, if a plea to the AIFF for it be allowed to play the corresponding ‘away' fixture instead is turned down.

The KSFA expects the surface – a project undertaken as part of FIFA's ‘Win in India with India' initiative in September – to be ready by December 31. However, according to the current fixture list, HAL has four ‘home' games scheduled in the interim, after the start of the season on November 26. A.R. Khaleel, President, KSFA, said he had made the request, to allot HAL the reverse fixtures instead, to the AIFF. For now, though, only HAL's clash with JCT, the season-opener at Bangalore, has been replaced in the calendar by its ‘away' equivalent.

The other three teams the city is expected to host are Mumbai FC (December 5), Pune FC (December 19), and Salgaocar SC (December 29).

Sunando Dhar, CEO, I-League, said he would consider the plea but could offer no guarantees. “We'll see what best we can do,” he said. “Shifting all matches could have an impact on league schedule.” If the AIFF did not respond favourably, said Khaleel, permission had been obtained to play those matches at the Sree Kanteerava stadium. — Sports Reporter

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