Chennai: Football enthusiasts are peeved that the city corporation is backtracking back on its decision to build a football stadium at Kannappar Thidal where a Rs 825 crore commercial complex is reported to be on the anvil. During the budget session last week, Mayor Saidai Duraisamy announced that a super structure will replace Nehru Market and Anna Market abutting the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor stadium and the erstwhile Kannappar Thidal playground.
The 5.09 acre Thidal is presently being used as a partial dumpyard and operations site for the Chennai Metro Rail Limited. Speaking to DC, C.R. Visswanathan, former Tamil Nadu Football Association president, said that the corporation had in 2009 agreed to build a stadium in Kannappar Thidal at an estimated cost of Rs 17 crore.
Representatives of world football’s governing body FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) had met the then Mayor M. Subramanian who agreed to construct an “international standard” stadium with floodlights and turf. “The Tamil Nadu players don’t have a stadium to practise in and the problems with obtaining permission from the stadium officer and ISL executives to use the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium is well documented,” said Visswanathan.
Subramanian told DC that the plans for stadium were underway but that the regime changed hands before anything concrete could happen. Old timers, whom DC spoke to, recollected fond memories of playing games at the Kannappar Thidal during the 1960s and 70s. “We used to call it the Salt Quarters ground,” said C.N. Moorthy, who was active in the sport in that period.
“Why a stadium at Kannappar Thidal is necessary is because the Nehru stadium is rented out for all sorts of functions and school or college related sporting activities. There have been times when club matches have been cancelled because the stadium was rented out,” he observed. “It is a dream for all football lovers in the city to have a stadium exclusively for the sport. As a coach, I know all about the difficulties that my players faced without a stadium to practice,” said former Tamil Nadu coach, C.M. Ranjith.”Constructing a commercial complex in its place is not a good idea for development of football,” he added.
When contacted by DC, corporation officials said that they had no idea of such a decision having been made to build a football stadium in Kannaopar Thidal.
