BMC clears plan to turn Mumbai's Neville D'Souza ground into convention centre

The BMC has approved a proposal to change the reservation of Neville D'Souza Football Ground in Bandra Reclamation to a convention and exhibition centre. The move has drawn opposition in the civic body and concern among players over Mumbai's shrinking football spaces.

In Short

• Proposal moved by Shiv Sena corporator Sandhya Doshi
• Opposition parties Shiv Sena UBT and Congress opposed it
• Ground holds historic value linked to Neville D'Souza's legacy

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) general body on Tuesday night approved a proposal to change the reservation of the Neville D'Souza Football Ground at Bandra Reclamation from a playground to a convention and exhibition centre.

The proposal, listed as item 22, was moved by Improvement Committee chairman and Shiv Sena corporator Sandhya Doshi. The BMC general body currently has a majority of BJP-Shiv Sena corporators.

The opposition parties in the BMC, Shiv Sena UBT and Congress, opposed the proposal during the general body meeting.

The decision has drawn disappointment among football players and football fans in Mumbai. Football players said the city already has very few grounds available for football and expressed concern that losing the Neville D'Souza Football Ground would further reduce the space available for the sport.

Players also questioned how Mumbai and India would produce future football stars if football grounds continue to be lost. They said the ground is widely known by Neville D'Souza's name and carries significance in Indian football history.

Neville D'Souza was the first Indian player to score a hat-trick at the Olympics, doing so against Australia.

Football players said that if the ground is taken away, Mumbai would not only lose a football ground but also a part of its football identity.

Former Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray also criticised the BMC's move. In a post on X, Thackeray alleged that the BJP-led regime in the BMC had started distributing land parcels of open spaces and playgrounds to its MLCs and funders in Mumbai.

"The anti- Gen Z BJP regime in BMC has started distributing land parcels of open spaces and playgrounds to its MLCs and funders in Mumbai," Thackeray said.

Calling it "land loot by the CM for his friends," Thackeray said the development was "shocking, and yet not so." He questioned the urgency behind what he described as the Chief Minister openly "looting lands in Mumbai for his friends."

Thackeray also questioned whether the move was an act of revenge by the BJP against Gen Z and young people who had stepped out to protest against what he called the government's incompetence.

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