Fatorda Stadium

Fatorda Stadium
South side of the stadium
Former names	Fatorda Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru Stadium
Location	Don Bosco Road, Fatorda, Margao, Goa
Opened	1989
Owner	Goa Football Association
Surface	Grass
Capacity	27,300
Tenants
Churchill Brothers (2006-present) Dempo (2006-present) Salgaocar (2006-present) Sporting Clube de Goa (2009-present)

The Fatorda Stadium, is a football stadium located in Margao, Goa^[1] and is the current home of Churchill Brothers S.C., Dempo S.C., Salgaocar S.C., and Sporting Clube de Goa. The stadium opened in 1989 and has an capacity of 27,300. It was initially known as the Fatorda Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru Stadium after the road it was located on and the first prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru.

History

Beginning

The Fatorda Stadium was opened in 1989 as a football only stadium but in less than a year was redeveloped to include cricket. On 25 October 1989 the first cricket ODI was played between Australia and Sri Lanka.

Football teams using the stadium

In 2006 before the 2007–08 I-League all the four Goan teams (Dempo S.C., Churchill Brothers S.C., Salgaocar S.C., and Sporting Clube de Goa) announced that the Fatorda Stadium would be used as the home for all four teams I-League matches.

Upgrading

Due to new AFC regulations the Goa Football Association has to make the Fatorda Stadium pass a stadium inspection in order for it to be ready for the 2011-12 I-League season as well as other AFC and FIFA competitions.

Football

This venue has long been a mainstay of Indian football, having played host to many international games, including India's qualifiers for both the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup.^[2] The stadium is also used as a regular home venue for the major Goan clubs Dempo S.C., Churchill Brothers S.C., Salgaocar S.C. and Sporting Clube de Goa.^[3]

Cricket

Even though the stadium was originally built to be a football venue, over the past few years it has been increasingly used to host international cricket matches. Since hosting its first ever international in 1989 between Australia and Sri Lanka, it has played host to seven further One Day Internationals, the most recent being between India and Sri Lanka in 2007.^[4] The allocation of cricket matches to the stadium has often upset the Goan football community as it renders them unable to use the venue for hosting football.^[5]

External links

• Stadium picture

References

1. ^ "Nehru Stadium". Cricinfo. http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/india/content/ground/58301.html. Retrieved 2009-02-01. 
2. ^ "2010 FIFA World Cup Asia Group Playoffs Match Report". FIFA. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/asia/matches/round=250425/match=300033484/report.html. Retrieved 2010-01-10. 
3. ^ "1st Division I-League Venues". Indian Football. http://www.indianfootball.com/en/I-League/1st_division/venues. Retrieved 2010-01-10. 
4. ^ "Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Margao / Records / One-Day Internationals". Cricinfo. http://stats.cricinfo.com/india/engine/records/team/match_results.html?class=2;id=1029;type=ground. Retrieved 2010-01-10. 
5. ^ "I-League clubs oppose pitch work at Fatorda". Navhind Times. http://www.navhindtimes.in/sports-news/6926-i-league-clubs-oppose-pitch-work-at-fatorda. Retrieved 2010-01-10. ^{[dead link]}