New Delhi, March 26 The players and head coach of the Indian men's senior team were denied entry to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Thursday for a press conference due to the Kerala Football Association's failure to pay a mandatory security deposit to the stadium owners.
The Indian players, including three from the state, and head coach Khalid Jamil arrived at the stadium for a pre-match press conference ahead of the senior national team's final AFC Asian Cup qualifiers match against Hong Kong on March 31.
However, they were denied entry due to a dispute over the unpaid amount between the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), which owns the stadium, and the Kerala Football Association.
"The issue is that the Kerala FA (football association) was supposed to pay a certain amount to the stadium authorities to reserve the stadium for four days for the match. That's why the authorities blocked entry," a source in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said.
As a result, the press conference was called off.
However, the source added that the match should proceed as scheduled, as the money will be deposited three days before the game.
Jamil was accompanied by homegrown players Ashique Kuruniyan, Sahal Abdul Samad, and Bijoy Varghese.
According to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) criteria, a stadium needs to be booked for four days for an AFC fixture.
This is not the first such incident involving the GCDA. Earlier, a press conference of Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters FC was similarly disrupted during the current ISL season ahead of their match against Mumbai City FC last month.
Jamil had named a 23-member squad for the last match. The Blue Tigers began their camp in Kochi on Tuesday.
With India already ruled out of qualification for the Asian Cup, the match serves as preparation for future assignments.
