Salt Lake: A 60-year-old football fan who hadn't been to a ground in 19 years made an exception for the FIFA U-17 World Cup last Wednesday in the hope that the new-look Salt Lake stadium would be friendlier towards people in wheelchairs.

Kallol Kolay was entertained by the football but disappointed to find more indifference towards people with special needs than he had felt the last time he was at the same stadium.

The chartered accountant's previous visit to the Vivekananda Yuba Bharti Krirangan was in 1998, when Mohun Bagan had won the National Football League. On his return almost two decades later, it did not take long for Kallol to realise how little things have changed for people with disabilities.

The cops would not let him get off a taxi near his designated gate and the volunteers did not have a clue which section of the stands would be appropriate for a spectator in a wheelchair, he said.

After the evening of football, Kallol allegedly received no assistance in hailing a cab to return to his Behala home. Back in 1998, the cops at the gate had arranged a taxi.

Kallol's experience at a global football event contrasts with the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, where the stadia had special amenities for people with disabilities, including separate seats, customised toilets and even a free ticket each for a companion. The same amenities are expected at the World Cup next year in Russia (see chart).

For Kallol, the U-17 World Cup in his hometown had started with similar expectations but has ended with regret. He tells Metro why.

The first rude shock came when, despite seeing my wheelchair, the cops didn't allow me to alight from my taxi near Gate 3A, opposite AMRI Salt Lake.

The taxi had to take a U-turn and stop near a petrol pump adjacent to the hospital and my friends, who are my age, had to cross the road pushing my wheelchair. What if I had gone to the stadium alone? The roads and sidewalks in my city aren't exactly wheelchair-friendly, after all.

Shock number two was when no volunteer came forward to push my wheelchair up the long ramps. My friends stepped in again.

The most upsetting experience was not being able to enjoy the match as the view of six-yard box to my right was partially impeded by the wire netting separating two blocks. This is where they had placed my wheelchair, and I ended up missing the movement of the England players that led to the second goal. I didn't even realise at first that the ball had gone in.

When we had first reached Level 1, where our seats were, the volunteers were clueless about where to put my wheelchair. I didn't see anyone making even a call to ask someone who knew. Finally, a lady police officer assisted us. She at least found us a spot where my wheelchair could be placed. Unfortunately, it was behind the last row of seats in Level 1, not a position from which a match is meant to be watched. I had to bend forward to catch many of the moves around the right box.

At some point in the match, a few FIFA representatives came to ask after me. I told them that I had a few things to say. They promised to call me but haven't done so (till Sunday evening).

I had gone to the ground expecting FIFA to have facilities for the disabled, like they do across the world. I regret doing so. I am getting tickets for the final, but I will give them away.