ISL 2024-25: Kerala Blasters raises concerns over Kochi stadium pitch condition after world-record dance event

ISL 2024-25: Kerala Blasters raises concerns over Kochi stadium pitch condition after world-record dance event

The Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium’s football pitch here has been rated as one of the best in the Indian Super League and teams have often said that they enjoy playing at the Kochi ground.

But a mass dance event on December 29, which saw around 12,000 Bharatanatyam dancers in action on the stadium ground in a bid to break the Guinness World record, appears to have messed up the pitch.

Kerala Blasters FC, which plays Odisha FC in the ISL at the Nehru Stadium here on Monday, has now raised concerns over the poor condition of the pitch at the stadium.

“Multiple inspections conducted before the ISL match, scheduled for Monday, have revealed a sorry state of affairs,” said the Blasters in a statement on Saturday evening.

“Conduct of a third-party non-sporting event on the field of play in the recent past has resulted in damages which are unwanted for the club and for the Indian Super League. The club has also taken note that there were no precautionary measures taken to prevent the same,” said the club.

“Currently the Blasters’ pitch team is working tirelessly, day and night, to restore the pitch to match-ready condition, which has resulted in the incurring of significant monetary charges.”