Internet Desk: The Sports Ministry is leaving no stone unturned to make India’s FIFA U’17 World Cup opener against USA on October 06 a grand success. Already the organisers have got the consent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be present on the occasion. The Sports Ministry and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) have decided to invite legendary Indian footballers to share the stage with the PM.
The former legends of the game would be felicitated by the Prime Minister before the kick off. They will be presented a shawl and a memento following his short speech.
All the Arjuna Award winners who have captained India will be felicitated. The shortlist includes Baichung Bhutia, Chuni Goswami and Pradip Kumar Banerjee among others.
The government had earlier planned to hold a lavish opening ceremony at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on October 5. But they had to drop the plan after FIFA’s objection. Initially the Ministry planned to get the FIFA President Gianni Infantino to give a small speech. But the plan was later shelved as the FIFA President decided to cancel his trip to India for the opening match of U’17 World Cup. Instead, he would now be arriving to watch the final in Kolkata on October 28.