Bagan’s new venue in race against time
With less than two weeks to go for former I-League football champions Mohun Bagan to play their first match against Churchill Brothers at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium, the venue is far from ready according to stadium watchdogs. Due to the unavailability of the Salt Lake Stadium because of the Under-17 FIFA World Cup, both city giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have decided Rabindra Sarovar and Barasat respectively as their new home grounds.
But on Saturday, it was learnt that the venue which also played hosts to Indian Super League (ISL) champions Atletico de Kolkata (ATK), has not been watered after December 10 when ATK played the semi-final against Mumbai City FC.
“The stadium has not been watered since December 10,” a security guard said when quizzed about the preparations ahead of the first ILeague game on January 7 here.
Sources said ATK have still not handed over the stadium and work is yet to start in full swing.
“This is the festive season and after New Year we will be on the brink of the first match. Work has to speed up as it is visible to the naked eye,” a police personnel at the venue said. Bagan officials have been adamant that everything will be put in place in time and the first match will be played at 7 0’ clock at the new venue. Meanwhile, West Ham United’s Senegalese striker Diafra Sakho is expected to remain out for about three months due to surgery on his back, which means he will miss the African Cup of Nations football tournament to be played from January 14 to February 5 in Gabon. West Ham coach Slaven Bilic on Thursday confirmed the loss of Sakho, who missed the start of the season and reappeared last month, reports Efe. Bilic said that Sakho has a back problem and it will rule him out for six to eight weeks and possibly up to 10 weeks. Last year, West Ham were fined by FIFA for not allowing Sakho, who was also injured at that time, to go to the African Cup of Nations.