Pic Courtesy: Xtratime
Kolkata:The President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Praful Patel visited the City of Joy yesterday to visit his daughter. Today he visited Nabanna to visit the chief minister Mamata Banerjee to discuss about the upcoming u17 World Cup.
Mr. Patel too visited the Salt Lake Stadium along with Eco Park where the U17 World Cup trophy would be kept. Along with that he also visited the Victoria Memorial where likely the FIFA delegates meeting would take place.
Followed by such visits, he held a meeting about the upcoming World Cup at ITC Sonar Bangla where Vice-president Subrata Dutta was also present.
The city will be hosting a three-day FIFA Council meeting ahead of the summit clash on U-17 World Cup on October 28, the All India Football Federation President Praful Patel said today.
With FIFA giving high “importance” to India, Patel further said their bid for the U-20 World Cup in 2019 has got a big fillip as he called on West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to apprise her of the situation.
The meeting also discussed about setting up a national training centre in Kolkata, which will be given a special status being the “home” of Indian football.
The FIFA meeting will be from October 26-28 with Council Members.
The Council consists of 37 members president Gianni Infantino, eight vice-presidents, and 28 other members elected by the member associations.
“Full FIFA Council will be here. This is a big achievement after hosting the World Cup. This shows the volume of importance the FIFA is giving to India,” Patel told reporters at Nabanna after his meeting with Mamata.
The agenda of the FIFA Council meeting is not out but it appears that there would be discussions on India’s bid for the U-20 World Cup 2019 for which the AIFF has already submitted the application.
“We are hoping that U-20 World Cup can also be hosted in India. I am very happy that the West Bengal government is extending full support. I am sure that the World Cup and the final will be a huge success,” Patel said.
On giving Kolkata a special status, Patel said: “The AIFF will recommend that Kolkata shall be given special treatment. Kolkata is the home for football in India, a place where people are passionate about the sport. Obviously we will like to see that Kolkata is high on the map of Indian football.”
“In the coming days we are hoping to set up a national training centre of football and that is what one of the discussions with the CM today was. She has agreed to extend full support. This is only a preliminary discussion.”
“The entire facility has come up beyond our expectation. FIFA is also very happy. Today we have discussed other arrangements for the World Cup and I am very happy with the meeting.
“West Bengal government is extending full support. I thank the Chief Minister and the sports minister and other officials. Everything is on track.
There may not be any inauguration ceremony in New Delhi on October 6 but there will be some events during the prize distribution at the Saltlake Stadium, Patel said after his meeting with Mamata and sports minister Arup Biswas.
On September 6, the Legends match would take place at Mumbai’s Andheri Stadium, however the legends made it certain that they won’t be playing if there is rain.
Mr.Patel would be returning to Mumbai today.