Swanky new football ground to host matches of MDFA

As of current plan, only some of the matches will be shifted there

The Bandra ground has been named after Neville Stephen J D’Souza, who was part of the Indian football contingent at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Australia and was the first Asian player to score a hat-trick in an Olympic Games. He finished the tournament as a joint top scorer, with four goals in three games. D’Souza played club football for Bombay. PIC/SAYYED SAMEER ABEDI

In two months, a swanky new football ground in Bandra will begin hosting some matches of the Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA).

The all-new Neville D'Souza Football Ground near Hotel Rangsharda in Bandra is nearly complete. "The ground is expected to be opened by August-end, latest by the first week of September," said Sudayan Banerjee, 67, general secretary of MDFA. "As of now, it will be used only for MDFA matches, but we are trying to incorporate grassroots-level programmes as well."

However, he pointed out that not all matches would be shifted there. "We might shift one or two divisions initially. We are trying to make the super division matches happen here, along with another junior division, such as DIV-I OR DIV-II. We can have around four matches per day on weekdays, and two over weekends."

The MDFA is the official district body for development, conduct and organisation of football in Mumbai.

Last year, MDFA matches were played at several locations, apart from the body's home ground in Parel. "We're looking to start matches at the ground at the earliest," said Aaditya Thackeray, president of MDFA and Yuva Sena chief. "Since it is an MDFA ground, it will help us schedule our games better and be more punctual with them."

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