The Union Cabinet on Thursday (June 13, 2013) gave its approval to the proposal for submitting guarantees sought by the All India Football Federation from the Government of India for their bid to host the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.

The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will involve 24 of the best youth teams in the world and is expected to be held in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Goa, Bangalore and Kerala, if India is successful in winning the bid.

India will be submitting its formal bid to FIFA very soon. The final decision is expected to be taken by the FIFA Executive Committee later this year.

Praful Patel (President, All India Football Federation) said: “This is an extremely positive development for Indian football and I am confident India will be able to make a formidable and successful bid with the backing of the Union Government of India even though there are some other strong contenders.”

He added: “I have been actively following up with FIFA regarding the submission of our bid and I’m hopeful that our efforts will be fruitful.”

(Edited AIFF Press Release)