EMS Stadium

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EMS Stadium
Kozhikode EMS Stadium.jpg
EMS Stadium
AddressIndia
LocationRajaji Road, Kozhikode, Kerala
Owner Kozhikode Corporation
Operator Gokulam Kerala FC
Kerala Football Association
Capacity 50,000
Surface Grass
Construction
Opened1977;46 years ago (1977)
ArchitectRK Remesh
Tenants

The EMS Stadium, located in Kozhikode, Kerala, India., [1] is a multi-purpose stadium that is primarily used for football matches. [2] The stadium is home to the I-League team Gokulam Kerala FC, as well as the Indian Women's League team Gokulam Kerala FC (Women). Built in 1977, [3] the stadium has the capacity to hold 50,000 spectators. It is named after the communist leader E.M.S Namboodiripad, who was the first Chief Minister of Kerala. The stadium is famous for its passionate football fans and has played host to several important football tournaments such as the Scissors Cup finals, Super Cup finals, Santhosh Trophy, and Sait Nagjee Football tournament. The Gokulam Kerala team has been playing their home matches at the EMS Stadium since 2017 and has had a successful run at the stadium winning their first I-League home match against East Bengal FC with a score of 2–1, and Shillong Lajong FC with a score of 3–2. The stadium is considered as a historic and important venue for football in the region and continues to attract large crowds for various matches and tournaments.

Contents

Renovations

The EMS Stadium in Kozhikode, Kerala, India is a multi-purpose sports facility that has undergone significant renovations over the years to improve its infrastructure and facilities. In 2005, the stadium underwent a renovation to host State Bank of Travancore National Football League matches. Another renovation was done in 2011 in preparation for the National Games in 2012, with the Corporation of Kozhikode and the government investing around 18 Crore for the upgrade.

The new design of the stadium, by RK Ramesh, includes state-of-the-art amenities such as a VVIP lounge with a seating capacity of 200, dressing rooms, media center, and other facilities. The grandstand pavilion was also upgraded for the National Games in 2012, and the stadium was fitted with improved floodlights to ensure high-quality matches. The EMS Stadium has been renovated to be an international standard stadium for both football and cricket.

The stadium is also equipped with modern facilities like VIP seating arrangements, food courts, and washrooms. The stadium has also installed CCTV cameras for security and safety measures. The stadium is easily accessible to public transport and have enough parking space. [4]

There are plans to lease the stadium to the Kerala Cricket Association while the Kerala Football Association would like to have control of the stadium. With its excellent facilities and infrastructure, the EMS Stadium is a premier sports venue in Kerala and continues to host a wide range of sporting events, including football and cricket matches, as well as other events such as concerts and festivals. [5]

Football

It was the home ground of Viva Kerala FC in the I-league, though now Kerala United FC is the team from Kozhikode trying to get into I League. It was also the home ground of Gokulam Kerala FC in the I-league. [6]

This stadium is famous for the football crazy fans of Kozhikode.[ citation needed ] Famous scissors cup finals, super cup finals, Santhosh Trophy, Sait Nagjee Football Tournament is held here. The stadium is the home ground for Gokulam Kerala team in I-League since 2017. Gokulam Kerala had won their first I-League home match against East Bengal FC for 2–1 and Shillong Lajong FC for 3–2.

Major football matches hosted

1980 AFC Women's Championship

1980 AFC Women's Asian Cup previously called Women's Championship Football, which the Indian team won silver was held here.

1987 Nehru Cup

The stadium hosted the 1987 Nehru Cup, which was won by the Soviet Union

22 January 1987International friendly India  Flag of India.svg1−1Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 1,00,000 [ citation needed ]
28 January 1987International friendly India  Flag of India.svg0−2Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 75,000[ citation needed ]
1 February 1987International friendly India  Flag of India.svg1−1Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 74,000
21 January 1987International friendly Germany  Flag of Germany.svg1−1Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 85,000 [ citation needed ]
23 January 1987International friendly Denmark  Flag of Denmark.svg0−1Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 35,000
24 January 1987International friendly Syria  Flag of Syria.svg0−3Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 45,000
25 January 1987International friendly Denmark  Flag of Denmark.svg2−0Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 35,000
26 January 1987International friendly Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg1−0Flag of Syria.svg  Syria Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 45,000
27 January 1987International friendly Germany  Flag of Germany.svg1−0Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 40,000
29 January 1987International friendly Bulgaria  Flag of Bulgaria.svg4−0Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 45,000
30 January 1987International friendly Germany  Flag of Germany.svg1−2Flag of Syria.svg  Syria Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 48,000
31 January 1987International friendly Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg0−3Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 55,000
2 February 1987International friendly Germany  Flag of Germany.svg1−3Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 78,000
3 February 1987International friendly Soviet Union  Flag of the Soviet Union.svg3−0Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 63,000
5 February 1987International friendly Soviet Union  Flag of the Soviet Union.svg2−0Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Kozhikode
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 75,000

Sait Nagjee Football Tournament

2016 Sait Nagjee Trophy Teams

TeamLocationConfederation
FC Dnipro Reserves Ukraine UEFA
1860 München II Munich UEFA
Argentina U23 Argentina CONMEBOL
Atlético Paranaense Reserves Curitiba CONMEBOL
Volyn Lutsk Ukraine UEFA
Rapid București Bucharest UEFA
Shamrock Rovers Dublin UEFA
Watford Reserves Watford UEFA

National Games

The stadium hosted football matches for the 35th National Games. [7]

Other uses

Cricket

It also hosted the veterans of India and Pakistan cricket match in which legends like Ijaz Ahmed, Syed Kirmani and others played. In 1994, touring West Indies had taken Mumbai in a three-day encounter. West Indies were dismissed for 176 and Bombay ended the day at 53/2. The match, however, had to be called off after the opening day owing to law and order problems in the wake of a bandh.

Other Event

It also hosted many cultural events held at Kozhikode like malabar mahotsavam.[ citation needed ] It also hosted the inaugural performance of world tour of A. R. Rahman, the Academy Award–winning musician.[ citation needed ]

Accessibility

The Kozhikode EMS Stadium is located in the heart of the city. It lies beside the Pavamani Road between Rajaji road and New Bus stand, a common stretch among many city bus routes. The Stadium Mavoor Road from the Western side allows access from Mananchira and Arayadathupalam, although there is no public transport along this route. The stadium is situated at 2.5 km from the Kozhikode railway station and railway stations respectively. The stadium is 26 km (16 mi) from Calicut International Airport, and 30 km (19 mi) from Thamarassery.

See also

Related Research Articles

Many sports are played by the people in Kerala including both traditional sports and sports from other countries. Association football is the most popular sport in Kerala, followed by cricket. Kerala Blasters are the most supported football club in the whole state and participates in the Indian super league the top tier of Indian football. Whereas Gokulam Kerala FC a club which plays in the I-league derives most of its support from the Malabar region. However, larger numbers of Keralites also follow sports such as volleyball, hockey, badminton, and kabaddi. There are many large stadiums in Kerala across different cities. Trivandrum city has various sports venues such as Trivandrum International Stadium, Jimmy George Indoor Stadium, University Stadium (Thiruvananthapuram), Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium and Central Stadium whereas Kochi city has stadiums such as Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium (Kochi) and Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium. An international astro turf hockey stadium is located at Kollam city. Other major stadiums are EMS Stadium in Kozhikode, Malappuram District Sports Complex Stadium in Manjeri, Kannur Indoor Stadium in Kannur, Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Kollam and many more. All these stadiums attest to the mass appeal of such sports among Keralites.

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References

  1. ↑ Sayak Dipta Dey (17 November 2017). "I-League 2017/18 : What does the season have in store?". sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  2. ↑ "football in Calicut". Kozhikode.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. ↑ EMS Stadium: Our home Archived 21 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine Gokulam Kerala FC (official website). Retrieved 21 April 2021
  4. ↑ "E.M.S. Stadium Famous Stadium in Kerala". www.indiamapped.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "EMS Stadium Gets Ready for Some Cricketing Action". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  6. ↑ s.pai, vinayak. "I League 2017/18: Gokulam Kerala FC 1-1 Mohun Bagan: 5 talking points from the game". Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  7. ↑ "Kerala to host 35th National Games from January 31". 27 June 2014. Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2018– via www.thehindu.com.

Coordinates: 11°15′23″N75°47′09″E / 11.256405°N 75.785708°E / 11.256405; 75.785708

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