FIFA rule forces Kochi to shut off terraces for the India vs Turkmenistan match
A FIFA RULE that bans non-chair seating arrangements in stadiums hosting a FIFA competition has forced the Kerala Football Association to release only 22,000 tickets for the India vs Turkmenistan match to be held in Kochi.
The matchday tkts for India-Turkmnistn was launched todayby Honourable Mayor and was handed over to Shri P Bhaskaran pic.twitter.com/jJfGVQDz09
— Kerala FA (@keralafa) March 23, 2016
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi boasts a capacity of 60,900. But it has chairs only in the lower tier. The middle and upper tiers of the arena are standar terraces that contribute to its tightly-packed giddy atmosphere during matches.
But due to the FIFA rule only the lower tier can be opened up to the fans during the World Cup Qualifier match between India and Turkmenistan. That means that despite sky-high demands for the tickets, the stadium will be only one-third full on matchday.
Tickets will also be available on Federal Bank branches listed below.(3)#kerala #indianfootball pic.twitter.com/gPaASrGMh8
— Kerala FA (@keralafa) March 26, 2016
The Kerala FA is taking a lot of precautions to avoid any violence or unseemly fan behaviour over the scarcity of tickets. For example, while in the past tickets were sold through bank branches all over the state, this time it has been limited to a few branches. And heavy security has been arranged around the ticket counters that have started selling tickets today.
The counter will be open on Saturday and Monday from 10am to 5pm and on Tuesday on 10am to 6pm.#kerala pic.twitter.com/0UH2I3bAZe
— Kerala FA (@keralafa) March 26, 2016
