Thiruvananthapuram: Absolute chaos reigned as the arrangements for the 2015 SAFF Championship that starts here on Wednesday have fallen flat on all fronts.
Coaches of the participating teams came down heavily on the way things have been organised at the pre-tournament press meeting which was held here on Tuesday.
Indian coach Stephen Constantine said there is nothing that is properly organised here ahead of the premier football tournament in the South Asian region.
“Tell me one thing that is in place for this year’s SAFF tournament. We are all disappointed with the way things have been organised here,” said an angry Constantine.
Patrick Aussems, coach of the Nepal team, said it took more than five hours of waiting in the hotel lobby to move into their rooms.
“We were sent to the wrong hotel first and then had to wait five hours in the lobby before we could get into our rooms,” fumed Aussems.
The tournament begins on Wednesday and ends on January 3. Host nation India, besides six other teams including defending champions Afghanistan, will compete for the trophy.
The other teams include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka. Pakistan, who were originally scheduled to compete here, have not turned up.
The event will be held at the brand new world class FIFA certified Greenfield Stadium in the state capital.
“We are yet to see the stadium and we are very disappointed about the way things are being organised. Everything is in bad shape right from our movement to the practise ground and the practise grounds are just two and we are seven teams,” said Sampath Perera, the Sri Lankan coach.
V.Sivankutty, CPI-M legislator and chairman of the local organising committee, put the blame for chaotic arrangements on the main organisers.
The seven teams have been split into two groups with India placed in Group A alongside Nepal and Sri Lanka while in Group B it would be Afghanistan, Maldives, Bhutan and Bangladesh. (IANS)
