Kochi: It’s official. Kochi has been confirmed as a venue for the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, in which 24 countries will participate. The city is also the first in the country to be ratified for the grand event. The announcement was made here on Wednesday after an inspection of the main venue, Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, and the four training sites in and around the city, by an 18-member FIFA delegation headed by project head, Tracy Lu.
“We are extremely pleased to announce that Kochi has been ratified as a venue for the U-17 World Cup,” said tournament director Javier Ceppi. Other Indian cities such as Navi Mumbai, Goa, New Delhi, Guwahati and Kolkata that are still only provisionally approved for the event to be held in September-October next year are expected to be ratified by the month-end. India had won the bid to host the World Cup in December 2013 and Kochi was one of the six cities selected.
Kochi has also been preferred for the unveiling of the ‘Mascot’ at a special function to be held later this year. The World Cup’s official emblem was launched in Goa by FIFA president Gianni Infantino last month. The FIFA team that inspected the sites in Kochi said they were pleased with the improvements, but urged the local organisers not to sit on the ratification and be steadfast to make the venues fully ready by March next year.
“It is not a blank cheque, there are still things that need to be completed. We’ll work closely with the state government and all the stakeholders to make sure the readiness and the compliance is ensured,” said Mr. Ceppi. Project director Joy Bhattacharjya termed Kochi as ‘a special venue.’
