Kochi: With just six months remaining for the Fifa U-17 World Cup the Union government has tightened the screws on Kochi, the venue it fears might smear the country’s pride.
On Friday, Union sports minister Vijay Goel was fuming as he went from one site to another, taking stock of the preparatory work in Kochi for the event that is scheduled for October.
“I’m disappointed, we are much behind schedule,” the minister said after holding a lengthy closed-room interaction with the various agencies involved. “I am here because there is a delay and I’ve pushed the panic button,” said the minister who added that the sports ministry is “very serious about the preparation at this venue.”
In March, Fifa had come down heavily on Kochi after finding the main venue Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the four training sites in the city lagging in preparedness.
Fifa head of tournaments Jaime Yarza had annou-nced May 15 as deadline for complete readiness.
“The prestige of the state government and the Centre is at stake here and both have contributed financially as well. If necessary I’ll visit again and I’ll be happy to give them awards if they meet the deadline, but if not? I don’t know,” said the former Kho-kho and basketball player.
Minister Goel later made a series of tweets on his personal account that included a meeting with chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan that he wrote was fruitful. He had also highlighted the “shabby condition” of roads leading to the stadium and urged the officials to expedite the work.
Meanwhile, the minister refused to comment on whether the government has a standby venue in case Kochi failed to meet the deadline.
