KOCHI: With the Asian Football Confederation officials having expressed satisfaction with the facilities at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, the stage is set for some footballing action at Kerala’s only top class sporting venue.The last football match held here was an exhibition fixture involving Brazilian giants Sao Paulo while the last national league game was played way back in 2002 when F C Kochin slipped out of the scene with a 0-5 humiliation against Kolkata club Tollygunge Agragami.Meanwhile, the ‘City Express’ has learnt that the Asian Football Confederation officials — who visited the venue the other day following Chirag United Kerala’s decision to host some of its home matches in the I-League this season in Kochi — have suggested a few modifications involving the position of the media box and the VIP enclosure at the venue. The change has been necessitated by the difference in vantage points for cricket and football. The required changes could, however, be made without altering the existing arrangements, sources said.Having been renovated by the Kerala Cricket Association earlier this year for the conduct of the Indian Premier League matches, the JN Stadium has these boxes at either ends of the field while they are supposed to be centrally located for football. The AFC team consisted of Competitions Manager Benjamin Tan and marketing representative Chen Haoming, and were accompanied by All India Football Federation’s Club Licensing Manager Roma Khanna. Their report would be presented to the club during a meeting of the I-League club representatives scheduled in New Delhi on Thursday.Registered with the Ernakulam District Football Association, Chirag — formerly Viva Kerala — had registered the JN Stadium as its official home ground with the AIFF. However, it had never been able to use the stadium to host I-League matches here. Of the three seasons the club has featured in the nation’s premier football competition, twice it played at Kozhikode (in 2007-08 and 2009-10) while last season, it was forced to shift to Kannur.Chirag is hoping to finally play at its ‘home’ after the conclusion of the Ranji Trophy matches in December even as the first few matches are slated to be played at the University Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Meanwhile, it is unclear whether the club can use the venue till the end of the season, likely to last till May, as the fifth edition of the IPL is expected to be held in April next year. Adding to the confusion, the BCCI is yet to decide on a request by IPL outfit Kochi Tuskers Kerala to shift base to Ahmedabad.
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