Under the new contract, the KFA will have to pay a daily fee of ₹25,000 to the Corporation for every match held at the EMS stadium.
| Photo Credit: K. Ragesh
The Kozhikode Corporation Council on Friday (October 10, 2025) decided to hand over the upkeep of the EMS Corporation Stadium in the city to the Kerala Football Association (KFA) for an annual fee of ₹3 lakh.
The stadium had been maintained by Gokulam Kerala FC since 2023, while using it as its home ground in the I-League. However, the FC recently had a fallout with the Corporation over an alleged breach of contract. The finance standing committee of the Corporation refused to entertain the FC’s request to renew the contract and decided to rope in the KFA, which had also requested custody of the stadium.
Under the new contract, besides the annual fee, the KFA will have to pay a daily fee of ₹25,000 to the Corporation for every match held at the stadium, irrespective of the income generated. This condition does not apply to events directly organised by the KFA or the District Football Association.
Meanwhile, Gokulam Kerala FC can continue to use the stadium as its home ground. However, if another team from Kerala qualifies for the I-League and replaces Gokulam, that team can use the stadium as its home ground upon request, but not as a practice ground. The KFA can collect the ₹25,000 user fee from teams using the stadium as their home ground and remit it to the Corporation. The KFA will also manage the use of rooms in the stadium allotted to teams during matches, but no team can use the rooms on non-match days.
The stadium can be used for events not related to football with prior permission from the Corporation and a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from the KFA. The first such event will be Season 2 of the Indian SuperCross Racing League (ISRL), organised by Bandidos MotorSports Kerala, under which motocross races will be held at the stadium on December 20 and 21.
The council also decided to waive the license fees for vendors in the Mofussil bus stand building, which was damaged in a massive fire on May 18. The council noted that the shops had to remain closed for days after the incident and could not be used again until necessary repairs were completed. However, many vendors had not paid license fees for several years since the Pandemic. Considering this, the Corporation has waived the license fees for two months for those who were up to date with payments and will extend the same benefit to others as they clear their dues.
Published – October 11, 2025 01:08 am IST
