No grounds in Malabar

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Football training in Malabar is in a dire situation due to the unavailability of playable grounds.

“If the situation prevails as it is, there will be a steep decline in the number of players coming up from the region,” says Anil Kumar, a coach working with Sports Education Promotion Trust.

“The major problem will be the youngsters as they will not be getting proper training and match practice. This was evident in the recently held inter-school football championship in the district,” said Anil, who was an official in the championship.

Most of the football academies and other clubs were depending the Kozhikode Corporation Stadium for training. But the stadium is closed for renovation work about one and half years ago and nothing has been done so far.

“Due to this, the tournaments had to be played on rough school grounds, which also lack width and proper maintenance. Most of the children will lose their interest to the game, if we ask them to play on rough terrains. Several students were severely injured in the recently held tournaments due to the deplorable ground conditions. In addition, the daily training of players are also hit badly.” he said.

Most of the Kerala players from Malabar area playing in the I-League now have used the corporation stadium facilities to groom their talents despite the shortcomings.

“The grounds used for the recent championships were in deplorable conditions. The work of the corporation stadium has not been started yet and if it starts, then at least it will take a year more to complete. The players, especially those who are in sub junior and junior levels, will bear the brunt of lack of proper training and match practice. This can never be allowed,” he said.