Football
Makeshift lights, a fish market, long drives: East Bengal fumes over Super Cup management
There have been complaints arising from the East Bengal camp regarding the overall management of the Hero Super Cup 2023.
East Bengal players training in dimly-lit conditions.
East Bengal had a lukewarm start to their Hero Super Cup 2023 campaign after drawing 1-1 against Odisha FC in the Group B opener on Sunday at the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri. Mobashir Rahman had scored for the Red and Gold Brigade, before Nandhakumar equalised for the Juggernauts.
However what made the headlines was head coach Stephen Constantine's blunt assessment of the callousness shown by the Hero Super Cup 2023 management over the training facilities, and the very scheduling of the tournament.
"The Super Cup should have been played throughout the season. Not bring eight teams to one training ground. We are driving more than two hours to a city where we won't have the game! Why didn't they have this press conference in Manjeri? (where the game happened) I have to travel back for two hours, and then to training, another hour. It's a complete waste of time," Constantine said at the pre-match press conference, which was held in Kozhikode.
"The only positive thing from this tournament is that there's an AFC slot, otherwise nothing," he added.
However, the travel and schedule weren't the only thing ailing the East Bengal camp. Lack of basic training facilities weren't made available to the club, which resulted in the players taking up makeshift changes and adapting to the unprecedented situation.
"Utter mismanagement on the AIFF's part. The training ground's gates were closed when the team reached the venue. The local coordinator himself was confused. It took him nearly 20 minutes to figure out the entry point. The team was standing outside all this while," a source from the East Bengal camp told The Bridge.
"Then the team had to walk through a fish market to enter the Kottappadi ground. There are no proper floodlights at the venue. Makeshift lights. It hampered the training sessions. The goalkeepers suffered the most as there was little or no light at either end of the ground.
"In the morning, Stephen had to travel 2.5 hours to reach Kozhikode for a 5-minute long presser. The AIFF didn't even offer any refreshments to the four coaches," they concluded.
East Bengal next face Hyderabad FC on 13th April at the Payyanad Stadium. Hyderabad FC will be coming into the fixture after a 2-1 win over Aizawl FC.
