Internet Desk: Today, 20 March 2017, marks 200 days until the FIFA U-17 World Cup kicks off and excitement continues to grow in the country as preparations for the first FIFA tournament in India gather force.
Tournament Director for the Local Organising Committee, Javier Ceppi said, “We are 200 days away from the Tournament, and we are happy to say that the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 is gaining quite a bit of momentum. We opened the Volunteers registrations, and that proved to be a success, with almost 20,000 people that have registered so far in a little over two weeks, which is something unheard of for a FIFA Youth Competition”.
India’s love for cricket is well known with the country getting opportunities to welcome other nations to play a world championship, the latest being in 2016 in the ICC World T20. However, popularity of the beautiful game is catching up and it came as a welcome news for football lovers when FIFA accepted India’s bid to host the U-17 World Cup. Indians have seen FIFA tournaments on television before and naturally, expectations are high when India hosts one 200 days from today.
“Being the first FIFA World Cup that the country hosts, India is planning to go all out on this one and is treating it as its Senior World Cup, which is fantastic. The level of interest we are getting from football and non-football fans is massive and reflects the importance that the sport is gathering in the country. We are truly committed to living up to the expectation by the delivery of a world-class event, and we hope that the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 can be the event that changes football in India forever,” Ceppi added.
Six teams have qualified for the tournament so far. New Caledonia, New Zealand, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Colombia have all booked their tickets to come to India in October.
The clock continues to countdown to the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017.