MUMBAI: The seventh edition of the Hero Indian Super League, planned for November to March 2021 behind closed doors, will in all likelihood be held in Goa, with Kerala, which was cited as the other possible contender as host state, dropping out of contention.
This was confirmed to SportzPower by an ISL team official Friday and corroborates comments made by All India Football Federation general secretary Kushal Das to Sportstar. “Goa is definitely one of the States. Kerala cannot be an option because it does not have (enough) stadiums,” Das said.
“Kochi has only one stadium and for Kozhikode you have to travel with the teams. For Thiruvananthapuram also, you have to travel. We are trying to avoid travel as much as possible but have not taken a final decision.”
As per the broad outlines of the plans that have been shared by Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL), organiser of the ISL, with the franchises, the teams, their support staff as well as technical crew could well be operating in a “bubble environment” for the full duration of the league. Details of just how this will “translate on the ground” are still awaited though.
Incidentally, Das told Sportstar that Kolkata and Mumbai are also in the race (for the record, SportzPower does not see either as a viable option). “Kolkata is also one of the venues for the under-17 Women’s World Cup (from Feb. 17, 2021) but there are other stadiums in Kolkata.
“We have to figure out what are the best possible options and a final decision would be made by the end of this month,” said Das.
Meanwhile, Kerala Football Association secretary P Anilkumar felt that Goa is the favourite to host the ISL.
“The general impression is that Goa will get the ISL. It is preparing to host the National Games and the under-17 women’s World Cup camp will also be held there. So everything seems to be in control,” said Anilkumar.
“In Kerala’s case, some five lakh people from other countries are expected to come here in the next two months or so. So we don’t know what the (coronavirus) situation will be here then.”
Related Report
FSDL sets Nov-Mar for ISL; Kerala &/or Goa likely to host
