People's Democracy

Gold Cup Football on Way to Party Congress

CREATING a ground of hope for a return of the golden days of football in Kerala, Kozhikode will be hosting the Nayanar Gold Cup Football Tournament in connection with the CPI(M)’s 20th party congress which is scheduled to be held in the city from April 4 to 9.

One notes that Kozhikode has been known as a city of soccer fans.

According to the football cup programme notification, the winners of the tournament, which would start in the second half of February 2012 and end in the first week of March, would be awarded a prize money of Rs 15 lakh. On the other hand, the runners-up and the best player of the tournament would get Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively, and the man of the match would be awarded with Rs 5,000. Eight major teams from all over India would participate in the tournament that is to be held in the floodlit EMS Stadium in the city.

The organising committee formation meeting, recently held in Kozhikode, approved a budget of Rs 1.6 crore for making the event successful. The meeting decided to collect Rs 1 crore through sponsorship and Rs 40 lakh through tickets. The organising committee also hopes that Rs 10 lakh can be collected through season ticket sales. The tournament is being organised with the approval of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that has promised all possible help in ensuring the presence of major teams of the country.

Apart from others, football lovers from all walks of life, cutting across party lines, also attended the organising committee formation meeting where Kozhikode District Football Association (KDFA) chairman A Pradeep Kumar (MLA) was elected chairman of the organising committee and T P Dasan the general convener. M E B Kurup is its organising secretary. The patrons of the committee are Mullappalli Ramachandran (minister of state, home affairs), Elamaram Kareem (former minister for industries), Dr M K Muneer (panchayat minister, Kerala), and M K Raghavan (MP), city mayor Professor A K Premajam, District Panchayat president K Jameela, A K Saseendran (MLA) and P A Salim (district collector, Kozhikode).

The presence of leaders from various political parties and various football organisations shows that the city is eagerly expecting a come-back of the football days after a long interval. Congress leader M K Raghavan (MP) and district Congress committee president K C Abu have offered their party’s wholehearted support for the tournament. The Indian Union Muslim League’s district secretary, N C Aboobacker, also extended his party’s support to the event.

The meeting was inaugurated by Professor A K Premajam, mayor of the city. Kerala Football Association president K M I Mather, former KDFA president C J Robin, former mayor M Bhaskaran, M E B Kurup, E Kuttishankaran, Palakkandi Moideen Ahamed, Kamal Varadoor and T P Dasan addressed the gathering. A Pradeep Kumar (MLA) presided over the function.