ME F340 / Sem-I–2020/ 2017B4AB0804P

Assignment 1 as Term paper in Introduction to Sports Engineering, BITS Pilani, India

Developmental history of football stadiums in India – earliest to most

modern
Vishal Kumar Singh
BITS Pilani, Pilani-333031, India

Abstract

Football is the most popular sport on Earth and so is the importance of it. This paper critically analyses the history of development of Indian
football stadiums over the course of time. The game which was brought in the country during British Era failed to develop while the western
counter path progressed. Some stadiums have progressed well but many still lack the necessary infrastructure. Being a country with huge
population, the country can become a center of future football talents if focus on the facilities and infrastructures are paid. Knowing the
historical background of our soccer stadiums will help us to understand the root of the game in India better.

Keywords: Stadium; British; infrastructure; Commonwealth;

1. Introduction

The football in India started way back in the mid-nineteenth century, which was actually introduced for British army. In
the beginning, it was played only among the army teams but soon the game found its place around the country. Calcutta FC
was the first club to have been set in 1872. Since Calcutta was the Capital of the British India, the game became popular in
the eastern cities and the first club in the country was founded there in 1880, two of them still famous today, Mohammedan
Sporting and Mohun Bagan. Football in India was steeped in a negative path. Calcutta team never felt the need to go beyond
the country to harness their skills. Lack of infrastructure and facilities of stadium became a big disadvantage to the football
culture in India from post-independence era and the gap of skills grew between the western developed countries and India.
After post-independence, due to lack of sports facilities, Indian team which was competitive with many western teams, failed
to qualify in many tournaments and thus the enthusiasm decreased. Over the years, the European countries have taken a big
advantage in the game due to proper facilities in Stadiums and their popularity has grown. In India, some stadiums have been
renovated so as to reach the standards of the International stadium but many still lag behind. Under-17 FIFA World Cup
happened in India in 2017 and thus boosted a step forward towards development of better stadiums for proper functioning as
well to provide good viewership to the public. Introduction of Indian Super League in the country is also a positive step
towards the advancement of football in India. But still India has to go a long way to make her stadium worth an International
game. Though being a large populated country, India still has less football stadium than that in England and Brazil where
football is very famous. Even FIFA is very keen to have International and league soccer grow in India owing to its large
market. It is to be seen in future if India can have the required infrastructure as that of Europe to be competitive with them.

2. Historic Stadiums

India Surprised the world with astonishing infrastructure in the Under-17 FIFA World Cup as India is not considered a
football enthusiast country to have the level of infrastructures. The stadiums used in this age group FIFA tournament have
been part of Indian Soccer history.

• Swami Vivekananda Yuba Bharti Krirangan- Salt Lake Stadium (Kolkata)

This stadium is quite popular as Salt Lake Stadium and is considered as the home ground for many football teams
of West Bengal for over a century. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, the two giants of Indian football use the
stadium for many home matches and now used in Indian Super League. Such was the level of Infrastructure of
this stadium that the Under-17 FIFA World Cup final was held in this stadium. Before it was renovated in 2011,
it was the 2nd largest stadium in the world with the official capacity of 1.2 lakh people. Before, 1989, it was
considered the largest stadium in the world until Rungrado May Day Stadium was built to take the status.
 • Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Goa)
Also known as Fatorda Stadium, it is quite iconic stadium operated by the Sports Authority of Goa. This stadium
was built in just 6 months without any compromise in the quality of the infrastructure. It has a sitting capacity of
around 19,000 people. It was established in 1989 and is the home ground of FC Goa. In 2014, it was upgraded
according to the standards of FIFA specifications. The stadium provides two types of seating arrangements along
with VIP Area. Because of the infrastructure and facilities, it is regarded as the most well-maintained football
stadium in the Indian Subcontinent.

• Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (New Delhi)

This stadium is considered as the costliest stadium aver built in India. It is a multi-sport arena and was built for
the 1982 Asian games. It has been renovated since then to accommodate various matches and tournaments. The
top-level facilities that the stadium provides and its massive infrastructure are astonishing. It has a capacity of
60,000 people and is the 4th largest stadium in the country. It was established for the 1982 Asian Games but it
was renovated and modernized for the Commonwealth Games 2010 held in New Delhi. The total cost of
renovation was US $150 million which provided the tag of the most expensive stadium ever built in South Asia.
The stadium is currently used by the Indian national football team for international matches as well for Indian
Super League.

• Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Kochi)

This iconic stadium is no less than a Colosseum. It has packed and centered infrastructural facilities making the
noise reverberate from the center to the outside. Popularly known as Kaloor Stadium, it has a capacity of 60,500
people. It is widely regarded as the noisiest football stadium in the world due to its unique infrastructure.

• Cooperage Football Stadium (Mumbai)

Though the stadium has a capacity of only 7,000 but the amount of history surrounding the iconic stadium is
legendary. This stadium has been hosting matches since pre-independence era. It is the venue where the iconic
Rovers Cup used to take place and teams from Europe used to take part in it. It is considered as the epicentre of
football in Mumbai.

3. Quality of Football stadiums in India

India has some good football stadiums with proper infrastructure and facilities but the number of such stadiums are very
low in the country. While cricket, a very popular game in India, has 49 international standard cricket stadiums, football has
the luxury of only 6 such international standards stadium in India. Majority of football stadiums are still lacking the facilities
and infrastructure required for a soccer match to proceed smoothly. Many of them are too old and not up to the mark. For,
example, unlike the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi which has good standard infrastructure, the Ambedkar Stadium
in Delhi doesn’t have roofs and is shadowed by Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium. Similarly, the Salt Lake stadium, considered
the home of Indian football, needs renovation so as to maintain the international standards. Mumbai, the financial capital of
India, does not have an AFC Grade A stadium. India’s World Cup qualifier matches were held in Pune’s Balewadi Stadium
but the capacity of the stadium to is too low to be a FIFA event venue. Indira Gandhi Stadium in Guwahati lacks proper
seating, roofs, and lighting system. Even the Fatorda Stadium in Goa is trying to turn itself into a cricket stadium for financial
reasons. It is also lacking the world class facilities of lighting and seating. The Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore is
another venue which lacks proper lighting system. Only the grandstand has a roof and there is concept of bucket seat there.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium of Kochi has a good infrastructure but it still requires refurbishment to reach FIFA standards.
One of the major issues the spectators face in Indian Stadium is that the field is too far away from the crowd unlike what we
see in Europe and South America. Good Infrastructure will help India accelerate in the path of growth. It is also vital to have
good infrastructure as many International players are coming to India to play in ISL.

Table 1. Number of Football stadiums in a country

Country Total
England 310
Brazil 254
India 97
The number of stadiums in soccer playing nations are way higher than the Indian counts even though the audience is huge
in India. Moreover, maximum of the stadiums of India lack the infrastructure required to match the FIFA standards. The
Table 1 shows that India still has a long way to go in order to match the level of facilities in this country. India being a large
country, there is quite a non-uniformity in the infrastructure of Stadium. While there are some good stadiums in South India
and Eastern India, there is a vacuum of facilities in some regions such as middle region such as Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, or Northern states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, etc. Due to no proper stadium in this region, the popularity of
sports is not that much as that in North-Eastern states, West Bengal, Kerala, etc.

4. Illustrations

Fig. 1. Aerial view of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (New Delhi)

5. Conclusion:

Soccer or football had arrived in India quite early owing to the British but it is failed to find the ground to become stable.
One of the main reasons for this is the low level of Infrastructure and facilities the country has for the game. After
independence, little was done to improve upon the game. Now, the gap of infrastructure is so much that India is lagging
behind by quite a margin. Many stadiums have been made and some are very good in infrastructure but many need proper
renovation and building to make soccer flourish in the country. There are many challenges for India in football but there are
lots of opportunities too. India is a great market for Cricket. Similarly, it can become a hub of football because of the potential
which lies in this country. In order to achieve that the level of Infrastructure needs to improve, which will enhance the
performance of sports person, which in turn will bring fans in stadium. Without facilities and infrastructures, soccer will not
flourish in India.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my professor Dr. Mani Shankar Dasgupta for providing me the opportunity to work on this topic and
help me to dig deeper in the subject. The project would not have been possible without the support and guidance of him. He
has been very cooperative to us.
References

[1 Dimeo P (2002) The Local, National and Global in Indian Football: Issues of Power and Identity, Football Studies, 5 (2), pp. 74-87.

[2] Madhuja Mukherjee. (2013) The otherness of self: football, fandom and fragmented (sub) nationalism in Bengal. Soccer & Society 14:5

[3 Kausik Bandyopadhyay. 2018. India. The Palgrave International Handbook of Football and Politics

[4] Available at https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/lack-of-quality-football-stadiums-is-a-problem-for-india viewed on 25th Oct (Web reference)

[5] Available at https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/the-rise-and-fall-of-football-in-india/cid/167766 viewed on 26th Oct (Web reference)