Multi-purpose stadium in Ernakulam, Kochi, Kerala, India
The
Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium
, also known as
Kaloor Stadium
, is a
multi-purpose stadium
in
Ernakulam
,
Kerala
, India. Since the 2017 renovation, the stadium has a seating capacity of 40,000.
[1]
Previously, it was able to host 80,000 spectators, which was reduced to 41,000 for
Indian Super League
(ISL) matches due to security reasons.
[3]
It is the home ground of the ISL club
Kerala Blasters FC
.
[4]
[5]
[6]
The stadium is touted to have hosted one of the loudest audiences for association football matches in the world.
[7]
The stadium has played host to a number of international cricket and football matches but after 2014 it didn't hold any cricket match due to ISL. The extensive grounds of the stadium serve as venue for important exhibitions, cinema events and political rallies in the city. The most innovative aspect of the stadium is its unique lighting towers of 2 kW Floodlights which when switched on fully can provide lighting levels for
HD
telecast. The Structure of the tower is itself one of a kind in India.
[8]
[9]
Greater Cochin Development Authority
leased out the Jawaharlal Nehru International stadium at
Kaloor
to the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) for a period of 30 years.
[
citation needed
]
The stadium acts as the home ground for teams including
Kerala cricket team
,
Kerala Blasters FC
(
Indian Super League
). As of 19 August 2017, the stadium has hosted 10
One Day Internationals
. Stadium holds the privilege of having the fifth loudest crowd (128 db) in the world,
[10]
during
ISL
2016 final match where Kerala Blasters played against
Atletico de Kolkata
.
Kochi was one of the six host cities for
2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup
held in India.
[11]
It was extensively renovated before the event.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
Early years and football's popularity
[
edit
]
The Kaloor Stadium was originally constructed as a cricket stadium. But considering that Kerala is one of the few regions in India where football enjoys considerable popularity it was used for football matches also. Indeed, in a match between India and Iraq in 1997, approximately 1,00,000 spectators filled up the venue, thus overcrowding it, which remains a record at this place. This was in the
Nehru Cup International Football Tournament
in 1997, which was the first tournament at the venue.
The stadium won several laurels for being constructed in a timely manner.
[12]
The stadium was completed under the watchful eyes of late
V. Joseph Thomas IPS
who was the head of the
Greater Cochin Development Authority
. He was a huge fan of football from his college days at
St. Thomas College, Palai
and also served as the patron of the Kerala State Athletics Association.
[13]
The stadium was inaugurated by then
President of India
Shankar Dayal Sharma
in 1996. It has 1.3 kilometres in outer circle.
International cricket
[
edit
]
After 1998, football went down and
cricket
took the centre-stage for many years, drawing sell-out and high money grossing games. In fact, the highest money grosser at the venue was made in a cricket
ODI
match between India and its arch-rival
Pakistan
in April 2005. The first
ODI
played on this ground was between India and
Australia
on 1 April 1998.
Kaloor stadium hosted the first match India played after
Sachin Tendulkar
's retirement. The pavilion was renamed as Sachin Tendulkar pavilion as an honour to him before this match between India and West Indies on 21 November 2013 which India won by 6 wickets.
The stadium underwent a massive renovation including a modern turf, an aesthetic modern roofing and a four-lane road from the south side of the stadium.
The first
Indian Premier League
game at the stadium was on 9 April 2011, when the
Kochi Tuskers Kerala
hosted the
Royal Challengers Bangalore
. It was the first IPL match for the Kochi Tuskers. Five of their 2011 home games were played in this stadium, and the other two were played at the
Holkar Cricket Stadium
,
Indore
. The stadium hosted the semi-final and final of the 2013 Duleep Trophy.
Return of football and the ISL
[
edit
]
Stadium before the start of an
ISL
match
In 2011,
Chirag United
claimed the tenancy of the venue. However, the premier football club of India was still not able to fill up the stadium's massive capacity.
[14]
Football returned to prominence at the venue after the launch of
Indian Super League
in 2014. The stadium is the home ground to
Kerala Blasters
, one of the teams with the most fanbases in the
ISL
. Some of the games involving the home team drew crowds in excess of 55,000 in the inaugural edition.
[15]
The first
Indian Super League
game at the stadium was on 6 November 2014, when the
Kerala Blasters FC
hosted the
FC Goa
. It was the first ISL match for the Kerala Blasters. The stadium had an average attendance of over 40,000 for the
Indian Super League
matches in 2014. The game between Kerala Blasters FC and Chennaiyin FC saw 61,323 spectators on 30 November 2014.
The stadium was the venue for
2013 Santosh Trophy
finals.
In popular culture
[
edit
]
The famous "Maro Maro" song composed by
A.R. Rahman
for the Tamil movie
Boys
directed by
Shankar
, climax scenes of the Tamil movie
Velayudham
starring
Vijay
, Malayalam movie
Run Baby Run
starring
Mohanlal
and many other Indian Films were shot in the stadium.
ODI matches held
[
edit
]
|
v
|
|
A Jadeja 105
*
(109)
MS Kasprowicz 3/50 (8.2 overs)
|
|
|
India won by 41 runs
Umpires: SK Bansal and AV Jayaprakash
Player of the match: Sachin Tendulkar (India)
|
- India won the toss and elected to bat first.
|
v
|
|
Ajay Jadeja 92 (109)
WJ Cronje 2/48 (8 overs)
|
|
G.Kirsten 115 (123)
Rahul Dravid 2/43 (9 overs)
|
India won by 3 wickets
Umpires: MR Singh and CR Vijayaraghavan
Player of the match: A Jadeja (India)
|
- South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first.
|
v
|
|
|
|
ADR Campbell 71 (119)
Ajit Agarkar 2/28 (10 overs)
|
Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets
Umpires: Vijay Chopra and Devendra Sharma
Player of the match: Douglas Hondo
|
- India won the toss and elected to bat first.
India won by 87 runs
Umpires: Billy Bowden (New Zealand) and AV Jayaprakash
Player of the match:
Virender Sehwag
|
- India won the toss and elected to bat first.
|
v
|
|
|
|
Geraint Jones 49 (66)
Yuvraj Singh 2/34 (8 overs)
|
India won by 4 wickets
Umpires: K Hariharan (India) and RE Koertzen (South Africa)
Player of the match:
Yuvraj Singh
|
- England won the toss and elected to bat first.
|
v
|
|
MS Dhoni
58 (88)
George Hogg 3/40 (9.3 overs)
|
|
|
Australia won by 84 runs
Umpires: SA Bucknor (West Indies) and SL Shastri
Player of the match: Bradley Haddin
|
- India won the toss and elected to field first.
Match abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain.
Umpires: Billy Bowden (New Zealand) and AM Saheba (India)
|
|
v
|
|
MS Dhoni
72 (66)
ST Finn 2/51 (10 overs)
|
|
|
India won by 127 runs
Umpires: Vineet Kulkarni and Steve Davis
Player of the match: Ravindra Jadeja (India)
|
- India won the toss and elected to bat first.
|
v
|
|
|
|
DM Bravo
59 (77)
R Jadeja 3/37 (10 overs)
|
India won by 6 wickets
Umpires: VA Kulkarni( India) and RJ Tucker( Australia)
Player of the match: Virat Kohli (India)
|
- West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first.
West Indies won by 124 runs
Umpires: IJ Gould( England) and S Ravi( India)
Player of the match: MN Samuels (West Indies)
|
- India won the toss and elected to field first.
Indian Premier League
[
edit
]
The cricket stadium in Kochi was expected to serve the
Chennai Super Kings
or the
Royal Challengers Bangalore
as a home venue apart from
Chennai
and
Bangalore
for the initial IPL seasons. However both the franchises initially refused and later promised to reconsider the offer, fearing a decline in revenues. Eventually no matches of the first 3 IPL seasons were played in Kochi.
The auction for expanding the initial eight franchises to ten for the
2011 season
was held on 22 March 2010. Rendezvous Sports World made the second highest bid of
?
15333 million, and elected to base its team in Kochi.
[16]
The first IPL match held at the stadium was between Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Royal Challengers Bangalore on 9 April 2011. The match was also Kochi Tuskers first ever IPL match.
|
v
|
|
B McCullum 45 (32)
D Vettori 1?17 (4 overs)
|
|
AB de Villiers 54 (40)
R Jadeja 1?28 (4 overs)
|
Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 6 wickets
Umpires:
Kumar Dharmasena
(SL) and
Krishna Hariharan
(Ind)
Player of the match: AB de Villiers (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
|
- Kochi Tuskers Kerala won the toss and elected to bat
|
v
|
|
B McCullum 47 (33)
R Ashwin 2?31 (4 overs)
|
|
SK Raina 50 (40)
RV Gomez 1?20 (2 overs)
|
Kochi Tuskers Kerala won by 7 wickets (D/L method)
Umpires:
Krishna Hariharan
(Ind) and
Tony Hill
(NZ)
Player of the match: BB McCullum (Kochi Tuskers Kerala)
|
- Kochi Tuskers won the toss and elected to field
- Match reduced to 17 overs per side due to rain. Kochi's target was adjusted to 135 runs from 17 overs via the
Duckworth?Lewis method
.
- Kochi Tuskers Kerala won the toss and elected to field.
- Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to bat.
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
ODI records at the venue
[
edit
]
Batting
- Highest Total: 321/6 (50 overs) by
West Indies
vs. India on 8 October 2014.
- Lowest Total: 191 (48.3 overs) by
India
vs. Zimbabwe on 13 March 2002.
- Most Runs :
Rahul Dravid
(223 runs from 292 balls in 5 matches)
- Highest Score:
Marlon Samuels
(West Indies) 126* runs from 116 balls vs. India on 8 October 2014.
- Average 1st innings total : 273
- Average 2nd innings total : 225
Bowling
Highest partnerships by wicket
[
edit
]
List of centuries
[
edit
]
- *
denotes that the batsman was
not out
.
- Inns.
denotes the number of the innings in the match.
- Balls
denotes the number of
balls
faced in an innings.
- NR
denotes that the number of balls was not recorded.
- Parentheses next to the player's score denotes his century number at Edgbaston.
- The column title
Date
refers to the date the match started.
- The column title
Result
refers to the player's team result
One Day Internationals
[
edit
]
List of Five Wicket Hauls
[
edit
]
Symbol
|
Meaning
|
†
|
The bowler was
man of the match
|
‡
|
10 or more wickets taken in the match
|
§
|
One of two five-wicket hauls by the bowler in the match
|
Date
|
Day the
Test
started or
ODI
was held
|
Inn
|
Innings
in which five-wicket haul was taken
|
Overs
|
Number of
overs
bowled.
|
Runs
|
Number of
runs
conceded
|
Wkts
|
Number of
wickets
taken
|
Econ
|
Runs conceded per over
|
Batsmen
|
Batsmen
whose wickets were taken
|
Drawn
|
The match was
drawn
.
|
One Day Internationals
[
edit
]
IPL records at venue
[
edit
]
Highest partnerships by wicket
[
edit
]
Kerala Blasters FC
[
edit
]
The stadium is the official home ground for the
Kerala Blasters FC
in
Indian Super League
since 2014. Kerala Blasters had won their first ISL home match against FC Goa for 1?0 conducted on 6 November 2014.
The game between
Kerala Blasters
FC and
Chennaiyin FC
saw 61,234 spectators on 30 November 2014.
Kerala Blasters
has the highest average attendance (47,427) for football clubs outside of Europe in domestic league matches, at that time.
[21]
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Blasters Matchday
In the inaugural season of Indian Super League,
Kerala Blasters
finished fourth in the group stages with 19 points from 14 games and qualified for Semi-final after beating Pune City FC. Kerala Blasters FC was unbeaten in six of their seven home games.
In semi-final which happened to be the last home match of this year for Kerala Blasters FC, Kerala Blasters FC won in emphatic fashion by trouncing toppers Chennaiyin FC with scoreline 3?0. One of the goals was scored by Malayali midfielder
Sushanth Mathew
away from 30 yards through a curling long-ranger, shot over renowned footballers
Alessandro Nesta
and
Mikael Silvestre
and it became a proud and memorable moment for sports fans in Kerala.
[22]
The opening ceremony of Hero
Indian Super League
2017/18 was hosted in the stadium.
Chirag United Club Kerala
[
edit
]
The former
I-League
football
team
Chirag United Club Kerala
(erstwhile Viva Kerala) played their home matches in the stadium for the
2011?12 I-League season
.
2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup
[
edit
]
On 5 December 2013, the
FIFA
Executive Committee chaired by FIFA President
Joseph S. Blatter
decided that host of 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be India
[23]
upon evaluation of bid sent by
AIFF
with Kochi as one of the eight possible venues.
[24]
Later, Chief Minister of Kerala Mr.Oommen Chandy stated that they will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sports Ministry in that regard after an exclusive cabinet meet on the issue.
[25]
Government has appointed senior IAS officer Mr. APM Mohammed Hanish as Nodal Officer as per Fifa's direction.
[26]
On 11 December 2014, FIFA team inspected the stadium and emphasised to improve the quality of pitch and need of bucket seats in the second tier of the stadium. With Kochi registering an average crowd of 47,000 for ISL, the city has gathered attention from the authorities in terms of attracting crowd.
On 6 April 2015, AIFF cleared Kochi as one of the venues after receiving FIFA's technical committee report. Delhi, Mumbai, Guwahati, Goa and Kolkata are the other venues.
[11]
Kerala Strikers
[
edit
]
The
Celebrity Cricket League
team
Kerala Strikers
played its home matches in the stadium since 2012.
Accessibility
[
edit
]
Stadium Link Road
The Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium is located in the heart of the city. It lies beside the Banerjee Road between
Kaloor
and
Palarivattom
, a common stretch among many city bus routes. The Stadium Link Road from the southern side allows access from
Thammanam
and
Kathrikadavu
, although there is no public transport along this route. The stadium is situated at 2.5 and 5.2 km (1.6 and 3.2 mi) from the
North (Town)
and
South (Junction)
railway stations respectively.
All city buses passing through the
Kaloor
-
Palarivattom
stretch have a stop at the stadium. The
JLN Stadium metro station
of the
Kochi Metro
is situated right in front of the stadium. The presence of a prominent bus stop as well as a metro station makes it a prime location and one which can be easily accessed from any part of the city.
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
Stadium before an
ISL
Match.
-
-
Manjappada
(Yellow Army) during a match in Kochi.
-
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
AFC Asian Cup 2027 Bidding Nation India
. All India Football Federation. 28 December 2020
. Retrieved
24 July
2023
.
- ^
"STADIUM"
.
waytokickoff.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2 June 2021
. Retrieved
24 January
2021
.
- ^
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kaloor, Kochi
Archived
26 January 2020 at the
Wayback Machine
.
keralacricketassociation.com
. Retrieved 18 July 2021
- ^
"
'FIFA never compromised on the safety of people at the JNI Stadium. But ISL does' - the New Indian Express"
.
Archived
from the original on 1 December 2017
. Retrieved
26 November
2017
.
- ^
"FIFA U-17 World Cup: Kochi stadium capacity reduced to 29,000 from 41,000"
. 4 October 2017.
Archived
from the original on 19 February 2018
. Retrieved
19 March
2018
.
- ^
"Contingency plans if Kochi can't host U-17 World Cup"
.
The Times of India
.
Archived
from the original on 2 August 2017
. Retrieved
9 April
2017
.
- ^
"Kerala's football fans set high goals"
.
Archived
from the original on 27 August 2018
. Retrieved
16 July
2017
.
- ^
"Manorama Online"
.
Archived
from the original on 21 October 2014
. Retrieved
2 November
2014
.
- ^
"Ground Capacity"
. 10 November 2016.
Archived
from the original on 20 November 2014
. Retrieved
21 December
2014
.
- ^
"Loudest record"
.
fanport.in
.
Archived
from the original on 29 December 2016
. Retrieved
28 December
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"Kochi to host U-17 FIFA World Cup matches"
. Manoramaonline. Archived from
the original
on 8 April 2015.
- ^
"Cochin Stadium"
. Official Website. 10 May 2016. Archived from
the original
on 3 June 2016
. Retrieved
10 May
2016
.
- ^
"Office Bearers of Kerala State Athletics Association"
. Official Website of Kerala State Athletics Association. 10 May 2016.
Archived
from the original on 11 February 2018
. Retrieved
10 May
2016
.
- ^
"StadiumDB"
.
Archived
from the original on 23 July 2019
. Retrieved
12 October
2015
.
- ^
"Kochi Stadium record crowd welcomes football again"
. December 2014.
Archived
from the original on 30 March 2020
. Retrieved
12 October
2015
.
- ^
"Pune and Kochi to join 2011 Indian Premier League,
BBC Sport
"
.
Archived
from the original on 8 April 2011
. Retrieved
24 April
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"1st Match, Pepsi Triangular Series at Kochi, Apr 1 1998"
.
ESPNcricinfo
.
Archived
from the original on 25 August 2019
. Retrieved
24 August
2019
.
- ^
a
b
"1st Match, Pepsi Triangular Series at Kochi, Apr 1 1998"
.
ESPNcricinfo
.
Archived
from the original on 25 August 2019
. Retrieved
24 August
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
"1st ODI, Pakistan tour of India at Kochi, Apr 2 2005"
.
ESPNcricinfo
.
Archived
from the original on 25 August 2019
. Retrieved
24 August
2019
.
- ^
"1st ODI (D/N), West Indies tour of India at Kochi, Oct 8 2014"
.
ESPNcricinfo
.
Archived
from the original on 25 August 2019
. Retrieved
24 August
2019
.
- ^
"Kerala Blasters has the highest average attendance"
. 15 December 2014.
Archived
from the original on 7 September 2020
. Retrieved
11 December
2014
.
- ^
"Sushanth Mathew: 'I pulled off Cristiano trick'
"
.
Nikhil Jitendran
. Goal.com. 15 December 2014.
Archived
from the original on 2 March 2015
. Retrieved
27 December
2014
.
- ^
"FIFA launches 2014 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust"
.
FIFA.com
. Archived from
the original
on 15 April 2014.
- ^
"Official: India to host U-17 World Cup in 2017"
. Goal.com.
Archived
from the original on 10 March 2016
. Retrieved
19 December
2014
.
- ^
"Kerala Government backs U-17 World Cup India bid"
. Goal.com.
Archived
from the original on 6 April 2020
. Retrieved
19 December
2014
.
- ^
"Hanish appointed Nodal Officer for 2017 Fifa U-17 World Cup"
.
The Times of India
. PTI.
Archived
from the original on 21 April 2016
. Retrieved
19 December
2014
.
External links
[
edit
]
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General
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Venues
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Records and stats
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Players
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Results
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Notable matches
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Other teams
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Landmarks
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Neighbourhoods
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History
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Transport
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Government
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Organizations
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Malls
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Culture
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Places of worship
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Health care
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Schools
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Universities
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Roads
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Sports
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Press
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Television channels
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The Club
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Home stadium
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Other Teams
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Key personnel
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Fan Group
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Rivalries
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FIFA
and
AFC
approved stadiums:
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Major national stadiums:
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Other major stadiums:
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Note:
(†) denotes stadiums
under construction
.
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