3-Nation series in Chennai could shift to Mumbai

by Chittu Shetty August 9, 2017

The indecision of Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) might cost Chennai a chance to host the 3-nation football tournament.

AIFF‘s intention of arranging a tournament in Chennai as a preparation for India’s third AFC Asian Cup qualifier game against Macau seemed to have hit another roadblock.

First it was the Champions cup, which was initially planned as annual 4-Nation tournament – a replacement for Nehru Cup, had to be changed into tri-nation tournament after Afghanistan pulled out due to logistic reason. St. Kitts and Mauritius alongside host India were supposed to play the tournament in Chennai but a new problem has risen.

With eight days left for the tournament to get underway – scheduled on August 17 – the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is yet to get the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the tournament from Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), which is in charge of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

According to an AIFF official, if SDAT doesn’t provide a written clearance by Wednesday, AIFF will have no option but to shift the event to either Mumbai or Bengaluru, “We have been communicating with the SDAT through Tamil Nadu Football Association (TFA) for the last 15 days but haven’t got the clearance and we don’t know the reason for delay. Now, time is running out and we have to sort out the logistical part of the tournament immediately. So we will wait until Wednesday before taking a final decision on the venue. If Chennai is unable to host it, the other options are Mumbai and Bengaluru,”

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But with Bengaluru FC scheduled to host their AFC Cup inter-zonal Semi-final match against North Korean side 4.25 SC on August 23 at the Kanteerava Stadium, the tournament could well be moved to Mumbai.  Even the Indian team’s camp, which was supposed to start in Chennai from August 11 for the AFC Asian Cup  qualifying match against Macau on September 5, could get cancelled.

The official also confirmed that renovation work at Nehru Stadium here has also been stopped on Monday at the behest of SDAT. “The AIFF has spent around Rs 20-25 lakhs for the renovation work of the Nehru Stadium pitch from its pocket. The work came to a halt suddenly on Monday.” According to SDAT the reason for delay is because they are awaiting order from chief secretary, “It might be our national team or any international team but we have to go through a lot of processes before giving permission. We are awaiting the order from the chief secretary. It is expected soon and we hope to get it tomorrow itself.”

If the tournament gets shifted It could be a big loss for Chennai since the last time an international football tournament was held in Chennai was way back in 1993 when it hosted the Nehru Cup. It has also been a decade since the Indian team played a match in the city when they drew 1-1 against Iraq in a Pre-Olympics match.