New stadium 5 Substitutions No Spectators

NDFA chalks out plans to re-start Senior Division league in June at Bharatratna Dr Ambedkar Football Stadium



By Paritosh Pramanik

FOOTBALL will have a new address this season. Rules will be tweaked a bit. Matches, to some extent, will be played “behind closed doors”.
With the Maharashtra Government taking Nagpur out of the Red Zone, football in the city could be seen played on the green lawn turf, by the middle or end of June.
After around two months of lockdown which was imposed to break the chain of COVID-19, Nagpur saw ease in curbs on functioning of several establishments. According to government notification, sports stadiums and complexes can be opened for sportspersons for practice but with adequate social distancing rules.
The Nagpur District Football Association (NDFA) has started planning for the season ahead. With the new stadium almost ready, last season’s Senior Division League and First Division Leagues matches will be played at newly constructed Bharatratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Football Stadium in Suyog Nagar, north Nagpur. 
“We are waiting for the permission from civic authorities. Once we get permission we will start the leagues at our new stadium,” NDFA President Haresh Vora told ‘The Hitavada’.
Germany’s Bundesliga was the first tournament to kick-start after two months forced break. As per FIFA’s suggestion, five substitution were allowed during the match. NDFA, too, will be tweaking their rules this year.
“All the Leagues will see changed substitution rules. A team will comprise 23 players and will be allowed to substitute five players per match. The technicalities as to when all players can be substituted (whether two in first half and three in second) will be completed in due course,” said Vora.
“FIFA’s suggestion of five-player substitution is very good. We know the stamina and fitness level of our players. Teams would get extra punch with two added substitutions,” opined Vora, who is also Vice-President of Western India Football Association (WIFA).
With Ramzan Eid round the corner (probably on May 25) and to give training time to players, Vora was of the view that the leagues could start in June, that too with government permission.
“If the situation (of coronavirus positive cases) improves and civic authorities allows to start tournaments, we can start with Senior Division by June only. There are few clubs which have Muslims players who are on fasting. The festival (Ramzan Eid) is round the corner. We will have to give players some time to train and build stamina as well. Above all, the temperature is on constant rise. I think by June we can start the tournament,” hoped Vora.
The biggest difficulty would be maintaining social distancing. Vora said they will try to follow the guidelines as much as possible.
“We will definitely follow the guidelines on social distancing. Less number of officials will be allowed during the match. Our new stadium is protected with chain fencing from all sides. Nobody will be allowed to venture inside the field. We will try to hold matches behind closed doors. But as some parts of the compound wall is broken we can’t bar spectators from entering inside the stadium from those areas. But, I will make it sure no unwanted person is allowed inside the fenced area,” Vora assured.
“At local level we can’t ask all the teams to follow what international clubs do (using sanitizers, thermal checks). We can only instruct them to follow the guidelines, rest is up to the club owners and players to keep themselves safe by following the guidelines” Vora signed off.