Indian Footballers, Head Coach Denied Entry At JLN Stadium Due To Dispute Over Security Deposit

Players and the head coach of the Indian men's senior team were on Thursday denied entry to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi for a press conference due to non-payment of a mandatory security deposit to the stadium owners by the Kerala Football Association. The Indian players, including three from the state, and head coach Khalid Jamil arrived at the stadium for a pre-match press conference ahead of the senior national team's final AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers fixture against Hong Kong on March 31.

However, they were denied entry because of a dispute over the unpaid amount between the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), which owns the stadium, and the Kerala Football Association.

"The issue is that the Kerala FA was supposed to pay a certain amount to the stadium authorities to block the stadium for four days for the match. That's why the authorities blocked entry," a source in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said.

As a result, the press conference was called off.

But the source added that the match should go ahead as scheduled, as the money is expected to be deposited three days before the game.

Jamil was accompanied by homegrown players Ashique Kuruniyan, Sahal Abdul Samad, and Bijoy Varghese.

As per Asian Football Confederation criteria, a stadium needs to be booked for four days for an AFC fixture.

This is not the first such incident involving the GCDA. Earlier, a press conference of Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters FC was similarly disrupted during the current ISL season ahead of their match against Mumbai City FC last month.

Jamil has named a 23-member squad for the upcoming match. The Blue Tigers began their camp in Kochi on Tuesday.

With India already ruled out of qualification for the Asian Cup, the match serves as preparation for future assignments