Hundreds of footballers, coaches, parents and supporters gathered at the Neville D'Souza Football Ground in Bandra on Sunday (August 23, 2026) to protest against a proposal to convert the ground into a convention-cum-exhibition centre, saying the redevelopment would take away one of the city's few accessible football grounds and affect thousands of players.
The protest came amid the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's push to clear the proposal. According to protesters, the ground is used by players ranging from young children to senior footballers for training, school tournaments and league matches.
The ground, which has been in use since 2018, sees football activity from early morning until late at night, with several academies and clubs using the facility for training and competitive matches.
“We have almost 14,000 people playing on this ground. Everyone from the ages of five onwards plays on this ground. School tournaments, league matches, and more happen here. It will be very sad if this ground is lost,” said Nigel Neville D'Souza, the son of the famous Indian footballer Neville D'Souza.
Coaches at the protest said losing the ground would disrupt training schedules and leave academies uncertain about where their players would practise and compete in the next season.
“In a week I coach more than 100-200 players from different age groups. I've been a part of this ground since its inception in 2018 and our club Mumbai Warriors FC played many matches here,” said Rajkumar Ashappa, head coach of Rafa Football Academy and Mumbai Warriors FC.
“If anything India needs to develop in football, it is more grounds. Then we may have a chance to compete at the Asian Cup. If you take away the existing grounds, that is unacceptable and uncalled for,” he said.
Mr. Ashappa said officials had told football groups that an alternative ground would be provided, but that no details had been given on where or when it would be made available.
Vishal Rathod, a senior coach with MSB Academy and the IOT club said the uncertainty was already affecting planning for the next season. “Both the academy and the club I am a part of play a lot of matches on this ground. I have been coaching here for seven years. It doesn't make sense to change the ground into a convention centre,” he said.
Mr. Rathod questioned the need for another convention facility in the area, pointing to the existing convention infrastructure around the ground.
“Planning for our club has been affected because we don't know where we will play next season. Parents are hesitant to send their children, and senior players are probably thinking about what will happen next season,” he said.
For younger players, the concern was more immediate.
“This is a very wrong move. We have to think about the future, about where we will play. If there is no ground, then how can we play? There is no other ground nearby and if we can't play, then how will we make our career?” said 15-year-old Waseem Yasin Khan, who plays in the second division of the BFC Neville Boys team.
Fellow player Deep Harmalkar, 15, who has played football since the under-8 level, said losing the ground could make it difficult for players to continue competing.
“If this ground goes away, then we will have to travel really far to play our Division Two matches, and our parents won't allow us to go then,” he said.
The Mumbai Football Association (MFA) also opposed the proposal, with its vice-president Nasir Hussain saying the city already had a shortage of football grounds.
“Mumbai hardly has any football grounds as it is. Every Indian dreams of a day when India will play in the World Cup. Our request to the government is that we need more grounds, but this ground itself is being sought after,” Mr. Hussain said.
He said matches at the ground begin as early as 6 a.m. and continue until late at night, adding that many parents attended Sunday's protest because they wanted their children to spend time playing sport rather than remaining indoors.
Former India goalkeeper and current goalkeeping coach of I-League club Real Kashmir, Mohammed Yusuf Ansari, also joined the protest and appealed for the ground to be protected.
“I am proud that I am an Indian player and a Maharashtrian player. But I feel deep regret for the young people. What is the future of these children if this ground goes away?” Mr. Ansari said.
Recalling the protection of football grounds in Mumbai in the past, Mr. Ansari said, “All the young footballers are our future.”
The protest also drew political support, with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, who is also the president of the MFA, alleging that open spaces and sports grounds in Bandra were increasingly being converted into privately controlled facilities.
“The problem is not with installing sports facilities, the problem is privatising them, gatekeeping them and ensuring that money is taken out of Mumbaikars' pockets,” Mr. Thackeray said.
He also criticised what he described as a broader lack of planning for football in Mumbai, referring to the recent visit of Argentine footballer Lionel Messi and the state government's proposed football development initiatives.
“When Lionel Messi visited Mumbai, he was taken to a cricket stadium because neither Mumbai nor the State football associations were properly involved. It was reduced to a photo op,” Mr. Thackeray said.
He also claimed that the announced 'Project Mahadeva' had stalled and that football grounds across Mumbai were being replaced by concrete structures.
“The selected kids have been sent back to their regular schools instead of being enrolled in the project. Meanwhile, football grounds across Mumbai are being stripped away and turned into concrete structures,” he said.
For the protesters, however, the immediate demand remained straightforward: preserve the Neville D'Souza ground and provide more spaces for football rather than reducing the number of existing grounds.
With academies, clubs and young players already planning their next season, the uncertainty over the ground's future has become a question not merely of one playing field, but of where Mumbai's next generation of footballers will train and compete.
