Kerala Blasters prepare for ISL’s likely return to Kochi

GCDA chairman offers full support to club, promises to improve facilities at Nehru Stadium

After living in Goa the last two years, the Indian Super League is expected to get back to its home-and-away business next season with the COVID-19 situation no longer a big worry in the country.

Anticipating the football carnival’s return to Kochi and a heavy rush to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here to watch the ISL runner-up in action, Kerala Blasters FC director Nikhil Bhardwaj held discussions with K. Chandran Pillai, the chairman of the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) which owns the Nehru Stadium.

And with the new GCDA chairman assuring the Blasters of the body’s full support, the KBFC announced that it would start its ISL pre-season preparations in Kochi in August and will play all its 10 home matches at the Nehru Stadium, its home ground here. The club also felt that next season’s ISL opener could be held in Kochi in October.

On its part, the GCDA has assured that it will try make the Nehru Stadium more attractive and also introduce multi-level parking at the venue to make life better for the club and its passionate fans. It also plans to offer space to the Blasters to open Kerala’s first-ever football museum.