West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari Saturday announced that internal procedures are underway to refund ticket money to roughly 33,000 spectators who attended the Lionel Messi event in Kolkata last year.
Speaking during a National Sports Day programme, he lambasted the mismanagement of the event and assured that the state sports budget would fund reimbursements. He mentioned the struggles of ordinary supporters, noting that even a local delivery worker had spent his entire year’s savings to purchase a ticket.
Referring to the incident at a special National Sports Day event held at Nabanna to mark the birth anniversary of ‘Wizard of Hockey’ Major Dhyan Chand, Suvendu said, “Messi has a huge fan base. They had purchased tickets costing Rs 4,000 and Rs 6,000. It is my wish to ensure that the money paid by these 33,000 sports enthusiasts is refunded. I have already initiated the process internally. I hope to be able to accomplish this.”
The event on Saturday was attended by former hockey player Gurbux Singh, Sports Minister Indranil Khan, All India Football Federation President Kalyan Chaubey and others. Accomplished athletes were felicitated and handed appointment letters on the occasion.
Lashing out at the previous government for neglecting the sports sector, the Chief Minister said, “You would be surprised to know that the paperwork for many of the athletes who received appointment letters today had been gathering dust in the Chief Minister’s office for 11 years.
“In recent years, West Bengal’s representation in the Olympics, the Asian Games, or national teams has been virtually non-existent, whereas states like Odisha and Jharkhand send representatives. Bengal possesses talent, intellect, dedication, and focus, but lacks the necessary systems, initiatives, and political will. Why must every sports sector or organisation be controlled by politics? The change this time will be a transformation of that very system. We will ensure that happens.”
Outlining his government’s roadmap, he stated, “We have allocated a budget of four hundred crore rupees for the sports sector; although, this is not a full-year budget but one covering eight months. We will build mini indoor stadiums in all 294 assembly constituencies, featuring tennis courts, badminton courts, and gymnasiums. It is not possible to build 294 stadiums in a single year, so we will construct 100 stadiums this year. The existing stadiums are in a dilapidated state; the previous government neglected the sports sector.”
