Chennai City FC to play all their games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the I-League season
What’s the story?
Chennai FC will be playing all their home games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium after the sports ministry of Tamil Nadu agreed to rent it to them at cheaper rates. Tamil Nadu sports minister K Pandiarajan confirmed the news to Indian Express, he said, “The meeting went very well and we have agreed to give the stadium to them at subsidised rates”.
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Chennai FC are one of the new teams to in the I-League, ending a 13-year-old wait for a team from Chennai to represent themselves at the National stage. On the pitch though, things haven’t exactly gone to plan for the side from Tamil Nadu.
They have managed to pick only one point from their first three games in the League. After drawing their first game, they have come up short against neighbours Bengaluru FC and DSK Shivajians.
The heart of the matter
The Tamil Nadu government surprisingly levied an “exorbitant” ground fee of 3 lakhs per game to Chennai City FC for playing at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, despite not charging any fee for the ground from 1983 to 2016. Since then, there have been former officials, pundits and ex-players who have come out and spoken against the policy by the Tamil Nadu Sports ministry.
Most notably, former TFA president C.R. Viswanathan, who urged the Government to let Chennai City FC use the ground for free. “Chennai City Football Club has got entry into the I-League, and put Tamil Nadu in the football map”, he said.
What next?
This removes a dark cloud from over the head of Robin Charles Raja and his team. They desperately need to get points on the board after starting the season on a low.
Their foreigners are yet to integrate themselves into the team, and it will be important for them to do so, as soon as possible. Currently, they’re eighth in the League.
Sportskeeda’s Take
This is undoubtedly a good decision. The decision to take a ground fee from Chennai City in itself was a curious one. The issue had become a bit political with people suggesting that Late. J. Jayalalithaa gave huge amounts to the state football association and the AIFF, and things have already started to change following her death.
Also, it takes the eyeballs back to the football.