Pitch not in perfect shape: AFC officials: People’s Sports Complex
By Our Sports Reporter
KARACHI, March 27: Asian Football Confederation (AFC) inspectors on Sunday said the pitch at People’s Sports Complex – the proposed venue for AFC President’s Cup – needs a “lot of improvement” if Pakistan wants to host the tournament.
“There is no doubt the pitch at the venue is not in a perfect shape and lot of work has to be done if Pakistan really wants to host this tournament. We have been assured by Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) that facility will be of international standards within a month,” R. Indran, the convenor of the tournament told Dawn.
Pakistan and Nepal are in the run to host eight-team inaugural tournament scheduled to kick off from May 4. Pakistan will be represented by national champions Wapda.
Indran, the director of security AFC who is in the port city along with his colleague Imtiazur Rehman to inspect the facilities for the tournament, said although the Pakistani officials had assured the facilities would be ready within a month, the decision would be taken by top AFC officials.
“The infrastructure is there but at the moment is not in a shape where an international tournament could be organized. For hosting the AFC tournament things must be in top order, nothing less than the specified international standards. We are not the final authority. We will submit our report and the president, secretary, director competition committee of the AFC will take the final decision.”
Although soccer has been suffering in Pakistan since long because of internal bickering within the PFF ranks, lack of merit, and good administration, little or no infrastructure is another factor that is an impediment to progress.
There had been a furore two years ago over the sub-standard pitch at People’s Sports Complex when Pakistan hosted Under-20 Asian championship qualifiers marred by allegations by Bangladesh coach George Kottan against Pakistan of fielding over-age players. The grassy but sandy and uneven pitch was criticized by coaches from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Maldives and the surface was even dubbed “rugby field” by Kottan.
While the surface is not up to mark, the stadium also needs renovation since the floodlights are not in perfect shape. The electronic scoreboard at the venue, which was built according to international standards, is in a shambles and quite a few seats in the stands are tattered.
“When I say that a lot of work has to be done, it means not only the pitch, but the stadium also needs renovation,” said Indran.
Imtiaz, a Pakistani from Karachi now serving the AFC as development officer, shared Indran’s opinion, saying the pitch needed improvement but added final decision would be taken by AFC top officials after comparing the facilities in Karachi and the Nepali capital Kathmandu.
“Apart from pitch, other things must be in perfect condition. We checked out the lights at the stadium and noticed that few are not working. But we could not recommend who should be the host,” the official said.
The two officials also visited the city’s hotels, practice grounds and expressed satisfaction.
Indra and Imtiaz are scheduled to fly to Kathmandu on Monday.
