Chennai City FC players in action (BCCL image)

CHENNAI: The I-League will kick off mid-November but Chennai City FC (CCFC) will not be ready to host any matches till December as work at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Coimbatore - CCFC ’s home ground for the season - has begun only on Wednesday. It will take around a month to relay the grass and restore the infrastructure of the ground, which had last hosted national-level matches in 1992.

It was learnt that CCFC have already requested the All India Football Federation (AIFF) league committee not to schedule any of their I-League matches in the first few rounds. “We have communicated to AIFF that we won’t be able to host any matches early on. But we have no issues in playing our away matches early. They have already acceded our request,” CCFC owner Rohit Ramesh told TOI on Thursday.

CCFC have been undergoing their pre-season in Coimbatore for the last one month and have been practising at the city’s Yuvabharathi Public School turf. A source said that the players will also need some time to get accustomed to their home ground conditions once it gets ready. “We are conducting two practice sessions at Yuvabharathi astro-turf in morning and night under floodlights. While we have been getting complete co-operation, we would still need to practise at our home ground to get a feel of the conditions. So that would also take some time before we host our first match,” the source said.

Confusion over CCFC’s Brazilian defender’s availability: CCFC created a buzz after roping in Chapecoense defender Lucas Luiz Scalon for the I-League. But it seems that the 22-year-old Brazilian is still undecided on committing his future at the club. “He arrived with his wife last month. But it was only for a few days. He has gone back and we are still awaiting his decision. Scalon and his wife know only Portuguese and it seems that they might find it difficult to adjust. Also, at 5ft 8in, he doesn’t really have the build for a defender. If he doesn’t revert this week, we will start looking for alternatives,” said the source.

CCFC’s French forward Jean-Michel Joachim is yet to arrive too. “His delay is due to visa issues. But he will be with us next week. We won’t have any problems with him because he is well versed in English,” the source said.

CCFC to play friendlies against Bengaluru FC and FC Goa: CCFC travelled to Bengaluru on Thursday to play two friendly matches against Bengaluru FC on Saturday and Sunday. “Bengaluru are going to field their first and reserve sides against us in the two matches. Since we haven’t played any competitive games this season, it will be an opportunity for our players to get some playing time. We are likely to play a friendly against FC Goa too,” the source added.

