FIFA praises improvement of infrastructure in Indira Gandhi Stadium

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FIFA U’17 World Cup Tournament Director of the Local Organising Committee, Javier Ceppi (R) with officials in Guwahati.

Internet Desk: The FIFA delegation on Sunday was impressed with the preparations at the venue and the eagerness shown by the State Government of Assam. The 21 members of FIFA and the Local Organising Committee visited Guwahati’s Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium to assess the preparedness of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 venue.

Addressing the media after the inspection, FIFA Head of Events Jaime Yarza was happy with the progression of preparation at the venue and said, “The State Government is wonderful and their eagerness to be a great venue for the first FIFA tournament in the country is worth lauding. We know how passionate the supporters are in this part of the country and hence, we’re very happy to see the developments and preparations here in Guwahati. We want to give the fans all over north-east India, just like at other venues, a great World Cup.

There are minor issues to sort out – like development of a new hotel for teams but I believe we are well on schedule for the tournament”.

Tournament Director of the Local Organising Committee, Javier Ceppi, was also pleased with the progress shown and mentioned, “The State Government of Assam has really taken the leadership when it comes to making the World Cup a huge effort in their State. We are already working on all operational and promotional matters to make sure that all the people of Assam and of the neighbouring north-eastern states can enjoy World Cup matches in the north-east”.

Speaking about the venue which includes the stadium as well as training sites, he added, “The development in the stadium is very satisfactory and we are sure that the FIFA U-17 World Cup will do justice to the vision of Hon. CM Sarbananda Sonowal of making Guwahati the sports capital of India”.

Also present at the venue were Ajay Tewari – IAS, Commissioner, Department of Sports, Government of Assam; Hemendra Nath Brahma, President, Assam Football Association and Joy Bhattacharjya – Project Director, LOC.

The delegation will finish their weeklong inspection at Kolkata tomorrow.