Datuk Seri Windsor John, the overall secretary of the Asian Football Confederation, and Shaji Prabhakaran, the AIFF secretary normal, in Kochi on Saturday.| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi is residence to Kerala Blasters, the membership with the largest fan base within the Indian Super League. Every time a match comes round right here, males, girls and youngsters, nearly all of their yellow colors, jostle their technique to the oval. Inside, the stadium is packed, nearly to the brim.

While the atmosphere is wonderful, the Kochi stadium is a recipe the catastrophe, feels the Asian Football Confederation normal secretary Datuk Seri Windsor John who had an in depth take a look at the bottom in the course of the current ISL opener right here. The Kerala Football Association had hoped to host a FIFA World Cup qualifier in Kochi later this 12 months, however now that has been pushed away.

“When I saw the match the other day, there were so many families there... children and women which is very good for football but is a recipe for disaster,” mentioned Windsor John, in a chat with The Hindu on the sidelines of the KFA’s Kerala Youth Development Project’s launch on Saturday night.

“These things have happened before, in Indonesia one year ago, so we cannot let our guard down and repeat the problem... then disaster for everyone. That I think is the biggest concern for the AIFF and I have conveyed my concerns as well.”

Kochi’s packed Nehru Stadium for the ISL opener between Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC on September 21.| Photo Credit:H. VIBHU

In October 2022 greater than 125 individuals, together with many kids, have been killed after 1000's of followers rushed on to the bottom after their residence group misplaced a match at Malang in Indonesia. Police responded by firing tear gasoline and in a bid to flee individuals have been trampled and crushed on the exits.

The AFC official felt the situation of the Kochi Stadium, ISL’s favorite soccer floor which is nearly within the coronary heart of the town at Kaloor, was a difficulty.

“The lack of infrastructure which includes the security infrastructure, segregation of fans, officials, players... unfortunately the position, the location of the stadium does not allow these to happen,” mentioned John.

“You’re just getting out of the Metro (rail) and you’re at the stadium. So, everybody is coming, so what is the safety plan?

“Of course, the stadium itself is a little old, needs refurbishment.. .dressing rooms, VIP area and all those things because when we play internationals, top teams would expect a level of facilities to be there.”

He felt that Kerala ought to go for a football-only stadium (the Nehru Stadium is a multi-purpose venue).

“Because when you build a new stadium then you can take all these regulations and put them into the new one. Remodelling the current stadium, you can only do so much because your location is central so you always have the safety and security issues which now in football forms the No. 1 priority,” he mentioned.

“On the other side, it will be great if you have a stadium that fulfils because your fan is ready-made here. You already have the passion, you don’t have to promote the match here. You probably will not have enough tickets. On the other side, everything is ready, but some boxes need to ticked and unfortunately, those are important boxes.”