JEDDAH, 1 November — Efforts are under way to establish a major football stadium in Malappuram in the south Indian state of Kerala with the support of Indian expatriate workers in the Gulf.
Juvenile Sports Club in Edavanna has already purchased a seven-acre land for the stadium, which will be named after the late Muslim politician Seethi Haji, who was a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly for 16 years and an ardent supporter of sports.
P. Shamsuddin, president of the club and a member of the Kerala Football Association, is currently visiting Gulf countries to meet Keralites to mobilize financial support for the project.
“Malappuram has India’s largest number of soccer fans,” he said quoting a recent study published by an Indian magazine. “But we don’t have a stadium in the district,” he said, emphasizing the significance of the project which is estimated to cost 40 million rupees.
He also pointed out that the captain and three other members of the Kerala state football team playing for Santhosh Trophy are from Malappuram. The district has produced great Indian footballers like Moideenkutty Senior, Moideenkutty Junior, Malappuram Aziz, Mampad Rahman and Sharaf Ali.
A number of wealthy Keralite businessmen in the Gulf have offered their support for the project, Shamsuddin said. “I am confident that we can fulfill this dream with the support of Keralite expatriate workers in the Gulf,” he added.
“Our plan is to establish a stadium of international standard,” he said. Apart from a football stadium, the project includes separate courts for volleyball, basketball, shuttle and badminton as well as a gymnasium with a health club. The stadium will be located about 30 km northeast of Calicut airport and 130 km from Nedumbassery airport.
Established in 1970, Juvenile Sports Club in Edavanna has conducted many cultural and sports events over the past three decades, the president said. The club is also planning to establish a soccer academy in the new complex, he concluded.
