ISL 2017: Hazardous Delhi pollution affects Delhi Dynamos home fixtures

​

Delhi players in training (Image courtesy: Delhi Dynamos)

​

What’s the story?

The dangerous rise in pollution levels in New Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) is threatening to affect the Indian Super League franchise Delhi Dynamos.

While the ISL commences on November 17 and given the smog crisis in the national capital which has already put human lives in jeopardy, is bound to test the footballers.

"The situation is very dangerous in Delhi and it was the same last year as well. At night, it gets even worse. As a result, this time we are taking full precautions and making sure the health of the players is not affected," said Delhi's assistant coach Shakti Chauhan.

In case you didn’t know

Rising pollution level is a common phenomenon during winter in New Delhi and the occurrence of fog further complicates the issue as it mixes with the hazardous smoke to form smog.

The project director of the recently concluded FIFA U-17 World Cup, Joy Bhattacharjya had told Sportskeeda that it was due to this very reason that no matches were kept in New Delhi beyond October 16.

The Dynamos players are also bearing the brunt of the situation as they have to turn out for practice in masks.

The heart of the matter

Delhi play their first home match on December 2 and the management are taking precautionary measures to avoid any major health concerns ahead of their first ISL 4 game in Pune on November 22.

In addition to Dynamos, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) side – Arrows, comprising of India's U19 and U17 players will be another team from Delhi which will face problems during their I-League campaign.

What’s next?

While the Dynamos' matches are in such a way that they don’t have to play at home before next month, the youngsters from Arrows, who returned from Saudi Arabia after taking part in the AFC U-19 Qualifiers, will be given extended leave owing to the harmful unplayable conditions.

Author’s take

The team managements can tweak their strategy to an extent to protect their squads from this pollution calamity for the time being, but as both the sides are based out of New Delhi, at some point of time the players have to struggle their way out the situation. This might affect their performance in the respective leagues and also pose a threat to their health.

​