The ISL 2016 storm has swept away all Kerala Blasters fans and the anticipation to witness the finals is at its peak after the stupendous and dramatic win of the team against Delhi Dynamos. The match being played at Kochi makes it even more special. Blasters, co-owned by Sachin Tendulkar, will take on Atletico de Kolkata on Sunday in the final match of the Indian Super League season 3 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kaloor, Kochi.
This enthusiasm among the fans could be one of the reasons that ‘all the tickets’ got sold. The online ticket sale for the match started on December 7, but all the tickets got sold by next day morning itself. Online portals had to reissue fresh tickets, however, even those got over in no time. Fans from various parts of the state who had come to purchase the tickets and watch their favourite team performing had to go back disappointed as the tickets counters at Kaloor stadium also remained closed.
Sanjai Basheer, a Kerala blaster fan says, “I was really excited to watch the finals. But I could not get the tickets despite trying for days. I have tried all possible contacts to get a ticket but, now I understand why all efforts were vain as tickets are being sold in black.”
Apart from a portion of these tickets being bought by football fans, a bulk quantity has also been purchased by fraudsters who are now selling the Rs 300 worth tickets at a much elevated price of Rs 3000, the police officials informed. They also informed that tickets are being sold in the black market at high rates through websites and social media groups created by these fraudsters. Police had already taken some people into custody who were trying to do so.
Basheer added, “This is really unfortunate as many people who are true fans of football and were looking forward to see the match will now have to sit at home or else pay ten times the original price of the ticket to watch it. This rate at which the tickets are now being sold is ridiculously high.”
People are also of the opinion that such a situation has been encountered due to the apathy of authorities as there were no checks done even if a person was buying 50 tickets. The authorities should have foreseen the situation and made necessary arrangements in order to stop such an activity.
A similar unrest regarding tickets had also happened during the Kerala Blasters vs. NorthEast united match where despite the stadium being completely occupied by spectators around 5,000 fans were waiting outside the stadium with valid tickets in their hands. However, they were denied entry as the stadium was already full. Some people were refunded the amount and some others had to return empty handed as they had complimentary tickets.
“I had bought four tickets for the match but when I reached the stadium that we would not be allowed to enter as the stadium is already reached its capacity. The authorities say that the tickets no more than the capacity of the stadium is even printed. And if people like us who have bought the tickets are standing out then who are filling the stadium”, said, Abi Jose a student from Kottayam
Whatever, be the matter lack of proper planning and management can be solely blamed for such activities.
Cover Image Courtesy: ISL Website
