Try to maintain what you have: Ashique Kuruniyan blasts Kerala government over construction of new stadium

Ashqiue Kuruniyan criticised the state government for overlooking infrastructural development at the grassroots.

Indian international Ashique Kuruniyan did not hold back his opinions on the state government’s decision to build a new stadium. Taking to social media, Kuruniyan expressed his displeasure over the Kerala government’s plans to build new stadiums.

In his comment, Ashique Kuruniyan emphasised the poor maintenance of existing infrastructure and advised the government that it should focus on maintaining and upgrading existing sporting infrastructure that is in a dilapidated state, rather than investing in new stadiums.

“We don’t need to build a new stadium; we need to maintain the existing 700-seat stadium properly”, wrote Ashique Kuruniyan in a story on his Instagram handle.

Highlighting the lack of infrastructure for budding footballers, he commented, “Try to maintain what you have. Let the children play and grow!”

Also Read: Why Lionel Messi’s Argentina visit to Kerala has been cancelled? Real reason revealed

Ashique Kuruniyan has been vocal on same in past as well

This is not the first time the Bengaluru FC star has come out in the open and criticised the state government for its approach towards the sporting ecosystem in Kerala.

Last year, when the Kerala Government announced its plans for hosting the Argentinian national football team led by Lionel Messi, Ashique Kuruniyan took a sarcastic dig, saying, “Messi will come, everything will be solved.”

In his social media post, he went on to share newspaper clippings of myriad problems faced by athletes in the state. One of the clippings shared by him included the reportage of how Kerala’s athletes were forced to go to the National Games hanging on the aisles of a train, as they were not provided with reserved tickets.

Not just that, the clippings also talked about some of the high-profile athletes like HS Prannoy (badminton), Eldhose Paul, and Abdullah Aboobacker (track and field) who had to leave Kerala due to a lack of assistance from the authorities.

Why is Ashique Kuruniyan’s anger justified?

These remarks carry weight, coming from a player like Ashique Kuruniyan, who has represented India at the highest level, prompting people to question whether grand gestures such as inviting Lionel Messi for a friendly or investing over a thousand crores in building a new stadium are truly serving the cause of sports development in the state.

This policy flaw isn’t unique to Kerala; governments across the country have often opted for such vanity projects while overlooking the crucial measures needed to genuinely strengthen the sporting ecosystem.

Kerala to build country’s first carbon-neutral sports city

Last year, the Kerala government announced its ambitious plans of building a carbon-neutral sports city in Kochi, the first of its kind in India. The ‘Cochin Sports City’ will come up in Chengamanad village, near the Cochin International Airport, in an expanse of 40 acres.

This grand project will also include a 40,000-capacity cricket stadium. Along with the cricket stadium, it will also have an indoor and outdoor practice facility, training ground, sports academy and research centre, eco park, water sports park, entertainment zone, and esports arena.

Continuing its drive to raise new sporting infrastructure in the state, the Kerala government recently approved plans to build another state-of-the-art cricket stadium on the CMS College campus in Kottayam. This was done after an MoU was signed by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) with CMS College. This will be a BCCI-standard first-class cricket ground, making it one of the major cricketing venues in the state.

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