20 trainees but no goal, patchy ground at Jalandhar football centre

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 13

As football fever peaks for the ongoing World Cup, a visit to the district’s football centre at Jalandhar Sports School to gauge excitement levels ends in disappointment. With 20 players supposed to be training here since May, it should have been bustling with activity and excitement. But the centre is in a state of disrepair. 

Remember, this is the centre where the legendary forward Inder Singh had practised in his playing days, apart from other players such as Kuljit Singh and Kashmira Singh.

When you get to the centre, it suddenly becomes clear that nothing is happening here. Leave alone the missing excitement, the place doesn’t seem to be a football training centre at all. It’s in a state of utter neglect, zero-maintenance and isolation. 

The playing ‘green’ is patchy. Parts of the ground are covered with grass that needs a good trim, and there are barren patches all over the ground, hard and gravelly. A fall or a sliding tackle on the barren patches can result in a bad injury. And the ground itself is not level.

The ground has only one goal, and that too in a bad state. It is old and rusty and lacks a net. It is learnt that there is no electric motor installed at the centre to water the ground. There is no machine available to trim the grass. “If no water is sprinkled, the ground goes dry, and becomes unfit to play,” an official said.

Shut for 15 years 

This centre for the under-17 players at Kapurthala Road had remained shut for almost 15 years. Due to the efforts of an official of the Sports Department, it was reopened, with the idea of making it operational this year. In January, trials were held and 20 players were picked up. But the tragedy is that though the players get free diet and accommodation, the infrastructure is in a shambles.

An official said the players do not play on the football ground owing to its non-maintenance. Instead, they practise mostly at the athletics ground, which is adjacent to the football ground. “The football ground is not used because the players can get injured if they play on it, due to its bad state,” another official said. Kartar Singh, assistant director of the Sports Department, said he visited the centre a few days ago and gave instructions that the half-finished infrastructure work be completed.

“The responsibility is of the district sports department to do the work and I have given instructions to complete the work,” he said.