Super-Division league matched are being played in the Polo ground in which top teams like JK Bank, JK Police, JK SRTC, Iqbal Sports, JK Forest, Maharaja Sports play. But seeing the condition of the ground and amount of grass on the field, it doesn’t look that the event is state’s biggest football event.
Polo ground is considered as the best football venue in whole state and during last year’s Santosh Trophy tournament important matches were played here. The turf was like velvet and there was no unevenness on the surface. Experts were saying that Santosh Trophy helped state to get national level infrastructure in shape of Polo ground and Bakshi Stadium.
But it was short-lived, as the Sports Council officials paid no heed towards the ground after the national event was over. As the national event passed the condition of field started to deteriorate due to lack of maintenance.
The condition of the turf has become worse due to non-cutting of grass and several players have even refused to play full matches.
“There is huge amount of grass in whole field due to which ball is not carrying smoothly. For passing the ball players need to exert themselves more and they even find it difficult to run on it. Due to that players have to use more energy and they get fatigued,” former Indian Football team captain, Abdul Majeed Kakroo, told Greater Kashmiri.
He said that ground has not been maintained and grass has not been cut from last one month due to which surface has become uneven and it can cause injuries to players.
“Players can easily get injuries like muscle cramp. Teams having young players have been finding it tough to perform because of the amount of grass on the field. Some players are not able to play full allotted time,” he said, adding, number of players complained about bad shape of the turf.
“We several times requested Sports Council officials to maintain the field. But they are doing nothing. If Sports Council can’t maintain the ground, JKFA is ready to do it,” Kakroo added.
Not only players and officials are concerned about the condition of the ground but the referees also expressed concern.
States only national level referee, Nazir Ahmad said, “The field is not well maintained. There is huge amount of grass all around it due to which field has become uneven. We have been repeatedly requesting JKFA, which is organizing the tournament, to cut the grass but they expressed helplessness due to non-cooperation of State Sports Council authorities.”
When contacted manager fields, Shakeel Ahmad, said, “We cut grass just a week ago but due to strikes and less manpower we couldn’t maintain it on daily basis. The field is slightly uneven at few places but that is not as much. The other reason was that our staff was maintaining Eid-Gah ground where B-division matches are being played.”
“We will restart work on Polo ground and soon its condition will become like it was during Santosh Trophy,” he assured.
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