SVC confirms 'Cup 'telecast, but not much excitement in city

Chennai, June 8 (UNI)The suspenseful moments for avid football fans like the ones they experience wondering if there would be a goal or not when a penalty kick is taken, are over with 'Sumangali Cable Vision' (SCV), the largest MSO confirming that it would be telecasting live all the 64 world cup football matches beginning in Germany tomorrow.

When contacted, a higly placed source in SCV told UNI that an oral agreement was arrived at with ESPN Star Sports enabling it to air on 'free to air channel', all the matches.

''Yes, it is on'', he said, when asked about ESPN Star Sports' firm denial that there was any agreement with SVC to share the telecast.

However, the Cup fever is not much in Chennai barring a few five-star hotels and restaurants working out special menus and attractions for customers like Chefs being dressed in football attire and screening of the matches on giant screens in open air spaces.

Treasurer of the Tamil Nadu Football Association Ravikumar David told UNI that the somehow, the excitement in Chennai city for World Cup football was not the same as in some cities.

''People are enthusiastic about the event, but it is not much'', he pointed out.

With the support from Football Players and Fans Co Ordination Committee, the Tamil Nadu Football Association(TNFA) thanked SVC for arranging the telecast. Earlier, before leaving for Germany to represent India in International Football Association FIFA, TNFA President C R Visswanathan, who is also Vice President and Chairman of the Technical Committee of All India Football Federation(AIFF), had appealed to Chairman and MD of Sun television network Mr Kalanidhi Maran to facilitate the telecast of the matches for football lovers in Tamil Nadu.

However, as in the case of cricket world cup, betting, albeit illegal, is very much a part of this 18th edition of the soccer world cup. Bookies are busy sharpening their pencils and offering odds, though small amounts, to rabid football fans. For instance, with some bookies, the firm favourite to lift the cup for a record sixth time is Brazil, the odds being '9/4', meaning if one bets Rs 4 on Brazil emerging the winner, he would take home Rs 9, as it were.

Other than Brazil, odds are being offered on England, France and Germany. But the odd on these three teams are 6 to 1 or 7-1.

In some mofussil areas in the city, football fans are planning to set up giant a screen in open spaces to gather there and witness the matches.

But the football players and fans coordination committee, whose members are also running an academy to tap talent in the sport, is marking the inauguration of the event in a novel way. it is organising a special coaching camp for about boys in the age group of 6 to 16.

Several former and present Tamil Nadu players, like Thangaraj, K S Raju would be coaching the boys under the auspices of Pachaiyappa's Harrington Fotball Academy in the city.

''The uniqueness of the camp is that we have chosen boys from not so affluent as well as affluent schools like Don Bosco'', Secretary of the Academy C N Moorthy told UNI.

UNI