East Bengal management enraged with Super Cup organizers AIFF for lack of facilities - Reports

East Bengal FC management has reportedly expressed their anger over the lack of facilities in Kozhikode and Manjeri, Kerala. The home team, Kerala Blasters have moved their base away from Kozhikode to a location with greater amenities. Meanwhile, the Bengal players were not provided with adequate training facilities, which forced the players to adopt workarounds and adjust to the unusual circumstances.

The team has also expressed its displeasure about the scarcity of ambulances and clean drinking water. Teams competing in Manjeri train at sites like Malappuram’s Kottappadi Stadium. Yet, according to Stephen Constatine, the head coach of East Bengal, the Stadium’s accessibility is a problem.

“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.” a management source was quoted saying,

“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 added.

“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,”  the source added.