34,000 attendance during last match; What to expect from Kerala Blasters' second home venue

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Indian Super League matches of Kerala Blasters will be held in Kozhikode this year. The EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode will be the home ground of Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League, which starts on the 14th of next month. An agreement was reached between the Blasters team management and the Kerala Football Association in this regard. The first match in Kozhikode will be in the last week of February. There will be seven matches in this season.

Kochi Kaloor Stadium, which was demolished for renovation works anticipating Messi's arrival, is now in a mess and still a far cry from completion. It was under these conditions that the games were shifted to Kozhikode. Although the Malappuram Manjeri Stadium was also considered as a home ground, the better facilities were a factor in Kozhikode's favour. In the last Super League Kerala season, 34,000 people came to the gallery to watch the Malappuram-Kozhikode match in EMS stadium.

EMS stadium resonates with the craze for football that is ubiquitous in the Malabar region of Kerala. It is said that the love for football began in the Victorian era in this district after the British introduced the sport among locals. The best way to show how fanatic people here are with football would be to mention the 30-foot cut-out of player Lionel Messi on a small islet in the Kurungattu Kadavu River in Pullavoor village. This cutout erected by Messi's admirers from the district even caught the eyes of the Argentine Football Federation.

Even when matches were held in Kochi, a lion's share of spectators were those visiting from the Malabar sector of the state. So, it is deemed that the matches at the EMS stadium will be held in packed houses. In a way, it will be an experiment worthy enough to let Blasters choose between two home venues. The fan frenzy, turf quality, and stadium facilities would be taken into consideration.

Meanwhile, the Kozhikode stadium was demolished last month to host the Super Cross India Bike Racing League. It will be restored by the middle of next month and handed over for the competition. The Corporation Stadium is also the home ground of Gokulam Kerala in the I-League and Calicut FC in the Super League Kerala. It is currently maintained by the Kerala Football Association.