After incessant rains destroyed the pitch at the Indira Gandhi stadium, Guwahati, after the first quarterfinal of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, between Mali and Ghana on Saturday, the football body and the local organising committee issued a statement, ahead of the semifinal on October 25.
Mali had beaten Ghana 2-1, but both teams had to toil on the waterlogged ground. The pitch was in poor condition after the downpour began 48 hours before kick-off, but the referees decided to go ahead with the all-African quarterfinal anyway.
FIFA’s statement read: “Following heavy rainfall ahead of the quarter-final between Mali and Ghana in Guwahati, the referee assessed the playability of the pitch upon arriving at the stadium and determined that the match could be played. Both teams were made aware of this decision. FIFA and LOC are closely monitoring the situation ahead of the semi-final."
The condition was so poor that the ball would often stop dead at certain parts of the ground, and players found it hard to judge the movement of the ball along the ground. It restricted the free-flowing style of play that both teams exhibited en route to the quarterfinal. It severely tested the physicality of the players, who didn’t seem to complain, as they toiled to keep the ball moving.
After the game, Mali’s Hadji Drame told FIFA.com: “The weather is not something we worry about. No matter the conditions, we go out onto the pitch with the intention of winning.” Hadji had scored the first goal of the evening for Mali.
The pitch got worse as the game wore on and the rain showed no signs of stopping. Several players were injured as they trudged on but the referee did not halt the game. The game had to be played, and completed, as it was hard to predict whether the rains would cease in the coming days.
Ghana coach Samuel Fabin expressed his displeasure at the press conference, saying that he thought the game should have been abandoned and played at another time. "We’ve not encountered anything like this before... those who are organising said we have to play, so we played," he said.
The torrential rainfall and heavy winds also resulted in poor attendance. Only 3,706 people turned up for the game in the 23,000-odd capacity stadium.
Pitch conditions at stadiums were a matter of concern much before the tournament began and the organising committee had done well to ensure that the pitches at all venues were up to the mark. The Indira Gandhi stadium, in fact, is one of the better grounds and had impressed inspection committees as early as February this year. Despite this, there was little the ground staff could do to salvage the pitch in such weather conditions.
The rains did stop later at night, but overcast skies in Guwahati on Sunday means that the pitch will take time to dry up. With the semifinal coming up, which will be a high-profile clash between England and the winner of the Germany-Brazil quarterfinal, FIFA officials will have to analyse the situation and take a decision. Should the rains return, there is a chance that the game might be rescheduled.
