Footballers, Citizens Rally In Bandra To Oppose Redevelopment Of Neville D’Souza Football Ground
Mumbai: Footballers, coaches, local activists and citizens turned out in force at Bandra’s Neville D’Souza Football Ground on Sunday evening for a ‘Tiranga Andolan’ against its proposed redevelopment. Their demand was to save the football ground from being turned into an exhibition and convention centre. Organisers said the protest was part of a larger fight to protect open spaces, alleging that…
Mumbai saw a large gathering in Bandra on Sunday evening to protest against the redevelopment of Neville D’Souza Football Ground. The protest, led by Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray and president of the Mumbai Football Association, aimed to save the ground from being turned into an exhibition and convention centre. Protesters, dressed in black and carrying the national flag, demanded to preserve the open space, alleging that 17 plots have had their reservations changed in the past four years.
Nigel Neville D’Souza, son of the late footballer Neville D’Souza, thanked the legal team, students, and supporters of the campaign. The protest echoed slogans like “Maidan amchya hakkacha, nahi konachya bappacha” (The ground belongs to us, not anyone else's) and “Kon bolta denar nahi, ghetlya shivay rahnar nahi” (Let no one speak, let’s not be weak).
National-level footballer Bhumika Mane appealed to the crowd, warning that the loss of playing fields would jeopardize the future of the sport. "If there are no grounds, where will the new generation play football? We should come together to save our ground," she said.
The protest expanded beyond Neville D’Souza Ground, with Versova MLA Haroon Khan calling it a fight to protect Mumbai’s open spaces from private takeover. Khan urged Gen Z and Gen Alpha to raise their voices, emphasizing that their right to protest cannot be suppressed. MSRTC recently earned ₹56 crore from the sale of scrap buses, boosting returns through centralised auctions.
Khan also alleged that Andheri’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Krida Sankul, offering facilities like cricket, cycling, walking, tennis, and open-gym, was being handed over to a private trust, urging its preservation. The controversy escalated after the BMC General Body's special meeting approved a proposal to change the reservation of Neville D’Souza Football Ground, moving it from an 8,450-sq-m MHADA plot at Bandra Reclamation to an exhibition centre.
However, the Bombay High Court halted the plan on August 20, and the matter will be heard again on September 18.
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