India wins bid to host U-17 football World Cup

Top class football action, on a scale not seen in the country before, is coming the way of Indian fans. FIFA, the international football body, on Thursday awarded India the right to host the Under-17 World Cup in 2017.

India beat stiff competition from Ireland, 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa and Uzbekistan to get the final nod from FIFA's executive committee at the resort town of Costa Do Sauipe in Brazil.

"This is historic. This is what we have been waiting for. I need to thank the FIFA executive committee for keeping its trust in us and granting India the right to host the 2017 U-17 World Cup," AIFF president Paful Patel said after the announcement was made late on Thursday.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter told a news conference that selecting India was "really a sports political, a geopolitical decision."

The tournament, in which 24 teams will take part, will be held at six venues which are to be selected from eight prospective centres — New Delhi, Goa, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi and Guwahati.

The AIFF chief hoped that hosting a tournament of such stature would help galvanize Indian football. "At the moment, football is popular in certain pockets in India. With the U-17 World Cup taking place, I strongly believe that the game's popularity will swell overnight and the mission of making football a pan-India sport will be realized," Patel said.

"I am grateful to the Indian government for its support and giving us the necessary guarantees which made it possible for India to bid for the Cup," Patel said.

"For India, the priority remains to make a mark on the world stage and the FIFA U-17 World Cup hosting rights could not have come at a better time. The very fact that our boys will be getting a chance to rub shoulders with the world's best is amazing. The overall infrastructure of the country will have to be improved to be at par with the international standards which will benefit Indian football immensely," the president added.

An elated AIFF secretary general Kushal Das said: "I cannot sum it up in words what this means to Indian football. I'm extremely grateful to FIFA for their support and encouragement."

Winning this bid is a matter to rejoice but it will also give rise to certain concerns, most importantly the infrastructure. The AIFF must get the organizational aspect in order as India's execution of hosting world class events has left a yawning gap apropos its aspirations.

The winning bid wasn't without hiccups. FIFA had rejected India's first bid in January as it did not comprise the required assurances from the government. The world governing body wanted written guarantees on security, tax exemptions, foreign exchange inflow, transport and accommodation of players. After months of parleying with the government, Patel managed to get the necessary assurances.

It was in the March of 2012 when FIFA president made a brief stop in the Capital and hinted for the first time that the world body will support India's bid for the event. The AIFF has been working on the bid since and officially submitted the documents in November to FIFA's Director of Competitions Division, Mustapha Fahmy, at the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich.

The sports ministry has earmarked Rs 95 crore for the development of stadiums and an additional Rs 25 crore will be the contingency funds. The actual tournament expenses will be borne by the AIFF and FIFA.

The tournament, whose first edition was held in China in 1985, is a happy hunting ground for the young Super Eagles from Nigeria. They won the trophy four times (1985, 1993, 2007 and 2013) followed by the samba boys from Brazil who won on three occasions. The tournament is held every two years. The Nigerians are the current champions after beating Mexico 3-0 in the 2013 final in Abu Dhabi.

The last edition was hosted by the United Arab Emirates. The next edition is slated to be hosted in 2015 in Chile.

Since its inception in China, 2002 FIFA World Cup hosts Japan, and South Korea and United Arab Emirates are the other three Asian countries to have hosted the U-17 World Cup so far. However, Saudi Arabia are the only Asian country to have won it, way back in 1989.

The women's U-17 will be held in Jordan.