Embarrasment for Indian football as Head coach Khalid Jamil, players denied entry at Kochi stadium

Indian football hit a new low on Thursday after the men’s senior team head coach Khalid Jamil and three players were denied entry into the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi over alleged payment issues.

Jamil, along with Ashique Kuruniyan, Sahal Abdul Samad and Bijoy Varghese, was stopped at the gates by security personnel of the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA).

It disrupted the pre-match press conference and Jamil and his players returned to the hotel after waiting for a few minutes. Even the media personnel attending the press conference were not allowed inside. The Indian football team are in Kochi to play an AFC Asian Cup qualifier match against Hong Kong on 31 March.

Notably, Kochi is hosting the Indian national football team after almost a gap of 10 years. The last time India played at this venue was in 2016. According to a report on www.onmanorama.com, the Kerala Football Association (KFA) has failed to pay a security deposit of ₹20 lakh to the GCDA for the 31 March clash.

Reacting to the issue, KFA president Navas Meeran called it a “minor technical problem” and assured that the match would go as planned. “The Asian Cup qualifier will go ahead as planned. What happened on Thursday was a minor technical problem, and it will be sorted out soon,” Meeran said.

How did AIFF react to the issue?

Addressing the issue, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed that the match will go ahead as planned in Kochi. In an official statement, AIFF ensured continuous support to KFA and said that there will be no lapses in arrangements at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

“As per the operational timeline, the stadium is required to come under the control of the match operations team from Matchday-2 (29 March), and we are confident that all necessary procedures will be completed within the stipulated timeframe,” the AIFF statement read.

India at the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers

Having finished third in Group A of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification, India advanced to the third round of the Qualifiers. In the third round, India were placed in Group C alongside Singapore, Bangladesh, and Hong Kong. With no wins in five matches so far, India have already been eliminated, as their match against Hong Kong is nothing but a dead rubber.

Singapore, with three wins, has already qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Bangladesh and Hong Kong have also been eliminated. Earlier, in the away game against Hong Kong, India had lost 0-1.