By IANS,
New Delhi: The Delhi government’s decision to host the Independence Day celebrations at the Ambedkar Stadium has forced the Nehru Cup organisers to defer the football tournament by a day and it will now start from Aug 19.
The orgnisers All India Football Federation (AIFF) and sponsors state-owned ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Commission) Wednesday decided to postpone the tournament by one day to get more time to prepare the ground for the 14th edition of the tournament. The final has also been pushed back by a day and has now been slated for Aug 31.
“We felt that pushing back the tournament by one day will give us more time to get the ground in shape. The government has informed us that they will try to clear the ground quickly after the programme,” a top AIFF official told IANS.
The Delhi government’s decision to host the Independence Day celebrations at the Ambedkar Stadium has been termed unreasonable by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which owns the stadium.
The turf of the Ambedkar Stadium is being relaid by British company Hemstock Associates and football officials feel that Independence Day celebrations will spoil the turf.
Six international teams, including last year’s champions India are participating in the event.
Syria is the highest ranked team, followed by Thailand, India, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka. The teams will be arriving from Aug 16.
The Chhatrasal Stadium used to be the first-choice venue for the Independence Day events but is undergoing renovation for the Commonwealth Games 2008, and so the choice has fallen on the Ambedkar Stadium, officials said.