Image not recoveredChirag United Kerala FC, Kerala's representative in the I-League 2011-12 and Kerala Strikers, a cricket team constituting of Malayalam film actors featuring in the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) are battling each other for the rights to play their respective sports at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi following both teams were scheduled to play matches here on January 22, 2012.
Chirag United Kerala was to play Kolkata's Pailan Arrows at Kochi in the Round 16 of the I-League 2011-12 as per the fixture released by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) as early as September 2011. Meanwhile Kerala Strikers, launched in December 2011, are to play Mumbai Heroes from 02:00 PM on the same day at the same venue in a six team entertainment cricket league tournament.
Both the teams have now locked horns regarding the usage of the stadium and the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) which owns the JNS have come in to negotiate between the parties. The representatives of GCDA, Chirag United Kerala FC, Kerala Strikers, the Kerala Football Association (KFA), the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) and Celebrity Cricket League 2012 will hold a meeting at Kochi on January 10, 2012 in which a decision is expected to be reached.
KMI Mather, President of the Kerala Football Association told in an interview to the CNN IBN that the KFA and Chirag Kerala are moving with the current match schedule. "We cannot change match fixtures, as it was fixed months ago. Also, the stadium was built for sports purposes, especially football, and I-League is more important than Celebrity Cricket League", he was quoted as saying. He also expressed that the GCDA can find a solution which will satisfy football lovers of the state. The Team Manager, Prashantan, was also confident that the decision will be in favour of the side that is playing a competitive sport.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Strikers jointly owned by popular director Priyadarshan, veteran actor Mohanlal and PM Shaji have also decided to move with the same date and their ticket sales have already gone live. Officials of the team are confident about Chirag United changing their mind and hope they will either change their date or venue. Kerala strikers constitutes actors like Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Kunchako Boban, Indrajith Sukumaran and Asif Ali.
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Monday 9 January 2012, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.
Comments · 2
Really pathetic !! I League >>>> CCL
I-league should go on same date and venue.......celebrities go back and do their job which is acting. y they doing such comedy thing CCL.. bullshit.