Photo courtesy: AIFF Media

The General Secretary of the AIFF, Kushal Das, and Tournament Director of the FIFA U-7 World Cup India 2017, Javier Ceppi, were part of a delegation of the Government of India led by Secretary (Sports), Shri Rajiv Yadav, that met with the Minister of Sports of Chile, Natalia Riffo, to gain insights about the support that the Government of Chile gave for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015.

In a detailed presentation conducted in the High Performance Center of the National Stadium in Santiago, Chile, Riffo detailed that the Government of Chile invested $269 million into building stadia and infrastructure for the conduct of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015. The Sports Minister of Chile explained that out of that amount, $156 million were spent into building new stadiums and $113 million were used to renovate existing stadiums for the event.

Riffo also explained that Government of Chile gave financial support to the tune of $6 million towards event costs. All the stadia were free of rental costs and the Government / Municipalities covered all the operational and utility costs of the stadiums and training sites during the competition.

Further for the smooth conduct of the event, ten different inter ministerial task force were established in matters such as Security, Entry and Exit Visas, Customs, Health, Transport, Telecommunications, Logistics and Infrastructure, among others.

The Sports Minister of Chile explained that Chile has established a policy of hosting major international sporting events because of all the economic, image and health benefits that it gives to the country. Testament of this is that the country has been a host of the Dakar Rally, the Copa América and the FIFA U-17 World Cup, all in 2015.

Riffo urged India to take the best advantage of the unique experience of hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup and confirmed that the investment made by the Government of Chile has been recovered by the economic impact that the event has had in the country and the movement it has created among the youth in Chile. The Sports Minister of Chile reinforced that the Government support is key for the success of these events, and that Governments have much to gain from hosting a FIFA World Cup, such as a huge legacy on developing infrastructure and creating a healthy lifestyle for the youth.

Rajiv Yadav, Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports thanked the Minister for the great insight given for the conduct of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.

Speaking to AIFF Media, Kushal Das mentioned the importance of learning the experience of the support by the Chile Government to the FIFA U-17 World Cup and said, “It was very impressive to learn that the Government of Chile had spent $269 million in developing infrastructure for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015. We have seen the Sausalito Stadium in Viña del Mar and it is a world class facility.”

(Report & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)