Javier Ceppi, tournament director of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup to be hosted by India next year, expressed his happiness about the way things were moving ahead in the preparation of the tournament.
'The venue has a very strong football culture and it would be a matter of great shame if we don't manage to fulfil the requirements in time'
India's big hope Yuki Bhambri crashed out of the US Open men's singles qualifiers with a three-set defeat to Japanese Go Soeda while Prajnesh Gunneswaran also suffered a tame defeat in New York.
The FIFA's inspection team on Wednesday sounded fairly satisfied over the progress at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, one of the venues for the Under-17 World Cup, but urged authorities to speed up work on core areas like competition and training sites.
Watching a match during the Under-17 FIFA World Cup, first ever in India, would cost the fans less than Rs 100, the Tournament Director said on Thursday.
The last set of pre-quarterfinal matches involved Ghana against Niger and Brazil versus Honduras on Wednesday.
Named in the Brazil squad for the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup, wonderkid Vinicius Junior is set to become the most expensive footballer ever to play in a competitive tournament in India.
An overwhelming 2.5 lakh people turned up at the India Gate to get a glimpse of the glittering trophy, which will be presented to the winners of the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup on Sunday.
Buoyed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support to the FIFA U-17 World Cup to be held in the country next year, Tournament Director Javier Ceppi said the government's involvement in the prestigious event will play a major role towards creating a "football revolution" in India. The Local Organising Committee set up by All India Football Federation is working in tandem with the government to ensure that the event turns out to be a massive success. While inaugurating a multipurpose sports complex in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday, PM Modi said that the opportunity of hosting a FIFA World Cup will be a big boost for the youth especially the sports lovers in India.
The city of Kolkata will turn into the headquarters of FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 as well as the main broadcasting centre to cater stories of the entire tournament to 209 countries, FIFA Head of Events Jaime Yarza Said on Thursday during his visit to Kolkata. After meeting the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat Nabanna, Yarza told reporters that they were happy with the venues and other infrastructure in the city to conduct the tournament successfully. Expressing satisfaction over the work done at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Yarza said that the venue would turn into a top venue of the U-17 World Cup.
Javier Ceppi, Tournament Director of the 2017 Under-17 football World Cup, which India will host, says the success of the event depends on the country's fans. Laxmi Negi reports.
Ticket sales in Goa, Delhi will go up after draw, says Tournament director Javier Ceppi.
'Mission XI Million is the most ambitious football engagement programme to date in India.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup a "big opportunity for our younger generation" and said the event will increase the interest in football in the country.
Guwahati is the venue of one of the semi-finals of the Under-17 football World Cup to be held across six cities from October 6-28.
"I said last year that I was happy with the stadium and I haven't changed my mind. It is a fantastic stadium and most of the works which we have requested to be able to host four teams and all the logistical organisational aspects of the World Cup have been completed," Yarza told reporters after the inspection visit.
Expressing satisfaction over the work done at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan, a FIFA inspection team on Thursday proposed few minor changes to turn the facility into a world class stadium. "We inspected the stadium. The planning and work done here is excellent. The work done until now is fruitful and satisfactory. There are minor amendments that need to be done. "We will come back in October to see the final situation. This will become the top stadium in India in future," Jamie Yazra, Head of Events, FIFA U-17 World Cup delegation team, said. While talking about minor changes, Yazra said these will be small fine tunings
India will stage the Under-17 football World Cup from October 6 to 28 next year, the sport's world governing body FIFA announced today while ratifying Kolkata as the sixth venue for the mega-event after an inspection in Kolkata. The draw for the mega-event, to be held across six venues in India, will take place on July 7. "We first came here two years ago to see the stadium. The work that has done has been staggering. I am confident that the stadium will look 30 years younger. I grew up here watched football here, it gives me immense pleasure to say Kolkata has been ratified as one of the venue for World Cup matches," Joy Bhattacharya, Project director -- FIFA U-17 World Cup, said.
Guwahati became the fifth Indian city to be ratified as a venue for next year's Under-17 football World Cup after a FIFA inspection team gave its thumbs up to the venue's preparedness and facilities.
European champions Spain will enter their final group match against DPR Korea as the firm favourites, looking to secure a Round of 16 berth in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, in Kochi, on Friday.
Goa on Saturday joined Kochi and Navi Mumbai as one of the venues to host next year's FIFA U-17 World Cup after it received the green signal from a high-level delegation of football's world body. A 13-member FIFA delegation alongwith the Local Organising Committee (LOC) today made an inspection to ascertain the readiness of Goa to host matches and training sessions at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017. Following the visit, LOC and FIFA experts expressed their satisfaction with the work which has been put in at the venue and ratified Goa as the third venue to host the event after Kochi and Navi Mumbai.
Tournament director of the Local Organising Committee, Javier Ceppi made the announcement at a press conference in Kochi after inspecting the works being carried out in the stadium and the training sites.
The catch here is that one has to buy the season tickets to get the discount of "about 60 per cent".
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Wednesday became the first Indian city to be officially declared as one of the venues for hosting the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup after it received a green signal from a high-level delegation of football's world body.
One of the traditional hubs of Indian football alongside Kolkata and Kerala, Goa's chances of hosting marquee matches in the FIFA U-17 World Cup appear to have taken a hit owing to low attendance in the AFC U-16 event last year.
India will be up against UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran in the group stages of AFC U-16 Championship as the draw for the event, which will act as a dress rehearsal for next year's FIFA U-17 World Cup, was held amid much fanfare in Panaji, Goa on Thursday. The tournament begins on September 15 and matches will be held at Fatorda and Bambolim Stadium in Goa. The final is slated to be played on October 2. The top two teams from each groups will qualify for the quarter-finals. In case India, who are in Group A, advance to the semi-finals, the winner of play-off 3 will also qualify for FIFA U-17 World Cup. Conducted by Shin Mangil, Director of Competitions, Asian Football Confederation, the ceremony was attended by Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, Secretary of All India Football Federation Kushal Das and U-17 World Cup Tournament Director Javier Ceppi among others. The 16 participating teams were divided into four groups.
The Local Organising Committee of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 (LOC) on Tuesday unveiled the official emblem for what will be the country's first international football event. The ceremony at a posh city hotel here was attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and Chairman of the LOC and All India Football Federation (AIFF) Praful Patel.
With exactly 10 days to go for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Local Organising Committee chairman Praful Patel, on Tuesday, declared that India is "100 per cent ready" to host the event.
The D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai brightened its prospects of hosting Under-17 World Cup football matches next year, with the head of a FIFA delegation on Wednesday calling it a 'high quality' arena.
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