new delhi, Aug 20
The seven-member delegation of the Brazilian Football Confeder-ation (CBF) inspected the Viveka-nanda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Thursday and expressed serious concerns about the playing surface, which they considered uneven. They also examined the training ground inside the Salt Lake Stadium complex and voiced concerns about the arena during their inspection of facilities in Kolkata. After spending nearly half an hour inspecting the main playing surface, the team led by Jose Vitor held discussions with representatives of the AIFF and the West Bengal sports department. The CBF representatives also spoke to the groundsmen and explained that the “density of the grass needs to be increased or else there is a massive chance of injury for Vinicius Junior and his teammates,” a source close to the developments told The Telegraph Online. “However, they were informed that several matches have recently been played at the stadium ( in the Durand Cup).”
The officials were said to be broadly satisfied with the other training facilities and hotel arrangements inspected during the visit. Meanwhile, on ticket prices, a meeting is expected to be held on Friday as the delegation is also set to make a courtesy call at Raj Bhavan. However, the cost of the tickets will be announced only after the CBF delegation submits its reports. However, some media reports have claimed that it will hover in the range between Rs 2,500 and Rs 25,000
Less than 45 days remain for the historic football match between Brazil, ranked fifth in the World, and India, ranked 138th in the world. The 96-member Brazilian contingent is expected to land in Kolkata on September 30 after their game against Australia. Thereafter, they will train in Kolkata on October 1 and 2 before facing India in the marquee clash on October 3. While the Brazilian side will play a couple of matches against Australia, they were also supposed to play another friendly in India.
However, the plan failed to materialise due to the unavailability of a good football stadium. “Yes, plans were afoot after Brazil showed interest in playing another match in India, and Uruguay could have been the most likely opponents,” a source close to the know of things had told agencies.
