At the closing ceremony of the 16th FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) entrusted India with the mantle of hosting the third most important event on the FIFA calendar – the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017. With an estimated global audience of about 200 million viewers from almost 200 different countries, this is the first truly global sports competition on Indian soil.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) looks upon this as an important step towards building the sport in India and has spared no effort to recruit the best talent and agencies to deliver the most professionally organized and transparent mega event the country has ever hosted. With 24 countries playing 52 games, the matches in the FIFA U-17 World Cup are scheduled to be played across six World-class FIFA certified venues in the country.

On this momentous occasion, Kushal Das, General Secretary, AIFF said, “We are proud to host the third most coveted international football tournament in the world and the biggest ever in Indian history. This is a matter of national pride as we help create World class infrastructure, bring in professional planning and execution and deliver the best possible tournament to India’s football lovers. We see this as the onset of a ‘Football Revolution’ in India.”

In the words of the President of the AIFF, Praful Patel: “This is historic. Hosting a tournament of such stature will help galvanise the face of Indian football among the masses and youth of the country.”

The Indian Government is as committed to providing all possible support for the tournament. The Sports Minister, Shree Sarbanand Sonawal said: “I urge all stake holders of the tournament to come together as a team and put their best foot forward to make the tournament a grand success. I also assure the complete support of our government for the first ever Football World Cup in India.”

(Report & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)