Kerala Blasters FC are set to enter the 2025–26 Indian Super League season amid one of the most turbulent logistical phases in the club’s history, with an agreement in place to shift their home matches to the EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode.
The move, driven by a breakdown in operational confidence at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, reflects a broader crisis in sports infrastructure management and has significant sporting, commercial, and emotional implications for one of Indian football’s most passionately followed clubs .
For over a decade, Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium had been synonymous with Kerala Blasters’ identity. The “Yellow Sea” created by the Manjappada fan base turned the venue into a fortress and a symbol of the club’s place in Indian football culture. However, that relationship unravelled dramatically ahead of the 2025–26 season. The stadium’s pitch suffered severe damage after hosting a large-scale cultural event, during which heavy equipment and vehicular movement compromised the playing surface.
For a club preparing for a shortened and high-intensity ISL season, the prospect of restoring the pitch within weeks was not only costly but also risky from a player safety standpoint.
Beyond the immediate damage, the Kochi venue had increasingly become an economic burden. High rental costs, coupled with the expenses involved in making a large, multi-purpose stadium match-ready for every ISL fixture, placed disproportionate strain on the club’s match-day finances. With the league shifting to a single-leg format for 2025–26, reducing the number of home games, Kerala Blasters were forced to reassess whether continuing in Kochi made operational sense. The answer, reluctantly but decisively, was no.
Kozhikode’s EMS Corporation Stadium emerged as the most viable alternative. With a capacity comparable to Kochi and deep-rooted football culture in the Malabar region, the venue offers Kerala Blasters access to a massive, under-tapped supporter base in North Kerala. Strategically, the move aligns with the club’s long-term vision of expanding beyond a single-city identity and embracing a truly statewide footprint. North Kerala has historically produced a significant share of the state’s footballing talent, and hosting ISL matches in Kozhikode represents an effort to bring elite football closer to that community.
However, the relocation is far from straightforward. The EMS Corporation Stadium is itself at the centre of controversy after hosting a motorsport event in December 2025 that left the pitch in poor condition. Heavy soil layering, machinery movement, and prolonged coverage of the grass surface destroyed the turf, leaving it uneven and unsafe for professional football. Despite assurances from organisers that the pitch would be restored by mid-January, inspections revealed that the grass cover had not recovered sufficiently.
This agronomic crisis is the primary reason the agreement between Kerala Blasters and the Kozhikode Corporation remains conditional, with final clearances still pending.
The challenge is magnified by the ISL calendar. With the league set to begin in mid-February, there is minimal time for natural regeneration of the pitch. Restoring a surface damaged by compaction typically requires extensive aeration and re-turfing, processes that often take months rather than weeks. Any compromise in pitch quality raises serious concerns about injury risk, particularly for a squad built around technical players who rely on ball movement and surface consistency.
Read Articles Without Ads On Your IndiaSportsHub App. Download Now And Stay Updated
Complicating matters further is the presence of another professional club at the same venue. Gokulam Kerala FC, who use the EMS Stadium as their home ground in the I-League, are wary of sharing the facility during a congested season. Scheduling conflicts, branding rights, and pitch maintenance responsibilities are all part of ongoing negotiations. For Kerala Blasters, who draw far larger crowds, the balance between coexistence and dominance in a shared stadium is a delicate one.
From a fan perspective, the move has triggered mixed emotions. Supporters in Malabar have embraced the decision, viewing it as long-overdue recognition of their contribution to Kerala’s football culture. For Kochi-based fans, however, the shift represents a loss of convenience and emotional attachment. The club has been careful to frame the relocation as a temporary and strategic adjustment rather than a permanent abandonment of Kochi, but the longer-term implications will depend on how successfully matches are staged in Kozhikode.
Sportingly, the uncertainty surrounding the venue adds another layer of pressure to an already challenging season. A compromised pitch could neutralise tactical plans and place players at risk, undermining the club’s ambitions on the field. For a league striving to enhance its global credibility, the situation also highlights systemic issues in how major stadiums are managed and protected.
Ultimately, Kerala Blasters’ move to Kozhikode is both a necessity and a gamble. It reflects frustration with infrastructural mismanagement, a desire for financial sustainability, and an ambition to deepen statewide engagement. Whether it becomes a defining success or a cautionary tale will depend on how quickly and effectively the EMS Corporation Stadium can be brought up to ISL standards.
What is certain is that the 2025–26 season will be remembered not just for results on the pitch, but for the off-field battles that reshaped where Kerala Blasters call home.
