FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium gets provisional clearance

Bhubaneswar has been named as a provisional venue for the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to be held in India next year.

The Kalinga Stadium stands to become the first to host a FIFA competition in Odisha.

The city of Bhubaneswar, on Tuesday, was named as a provisional venue for the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to be held in India next year.

The final inspection will take place later this year, at which point, the venue has to be fully compliant. Based on this, it will receive full ratification by FIFA and be confirmed as a Host City for the World Cup.

Tournament director of the Local Organising Committee, Roma Khanna said: “We are happy to give a provisional clearance to the city of Bhubaneswar and confirm them as the first venue for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to be provisionally selected. I would like to congratulate the State of Odisha for being part of what is sure to be a cornerstone event for women’s football in the country."

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She added: "There is work remaining, and the State government has to bring up the stadium and the training sites to FIFA standards. But we are satisfied with the commitment exhibited by the Government to complete all the work that is required to obtain the full ratification.”

The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will have a lasting influence in sports in India and Odisha, and will upgrade the infrastructure to FIFA standards. The Kalinga Stadium stands to become the first to host a FIFA competition in Odisha.

The tournament will be the first FIFA women's competition in the country and the second overall FIFA event to be held in India.