5 Biggest moments of Kerala football in recent times

Modified Oct 28, 2018 19:44 GMT

#1 #SaveKochiTurf campaign

Probably the greatest achievement of football-loving people of Kerala is certainly the #SaveKochiTurf campaign, which forced the Kerala Cricket Association and Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) to shift the match to Greenfield Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.

The India versus West Indies match, which will happen on Wednesday, November 1, was initially scheduled at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, which is the home of Kerala Blasters. The move irked the football fans and invited criticism from every corner of the state. Fans put up a dharna in front of the stadium.

But the KCA was in no mood to trackback from its position. The Greater Cochin Development Authority leased out the JLN stadium to KCA for a 30-year period in 2014 and the state cricket body is well within its rights to host the match in Kochi.

The fans started #SaveKochiTurf campaign and urged people from all over the country to support them. Not only they got the support from ordinary citizens, but sportspersons like Sachin Tendulkar (the former owner of Kerala Blasters), India captain Sunil Chhetri, Canadian footballer Iain Hume, local footballers like CK Vineeth and Rino Anto took to twitter and raised voice against the KCA’s decision.

Under pressure from every corner, the KCA finally announced that ODI has been shifted to Thiruvananthapuram. #SaveKochiTurf campaign came to an end with rousing success.

Edited by Shruti Sadbhav