AIFF: FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup venue development on track

AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said while three of the venues didn't require much changes as they have played, the work is on schedule in the two new venues which have never hosted

Bhubaneswar's Kalinga stadium is one of the venues for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

The preparations in the venues for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, to be held next year from 17 February till 7 March 2021, are on track, according to the All India Football Federation.

Speaking in a webinar arranged by Sports Industry Awards (SPIA) Asia entitled ‘Sports Industry in India – today', AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said: “These are unforeseen circumstances, and there have been some setbacks. But three of the five venues had already hosted the U-17 FIFA World Cup in 2017 and they do not require much changes.”

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“Among the other two venues – at Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad -- most of the work is on schedule. In Odisha, we have been working closely with the State Government, and also in Ahmedabad. We are quite hopeful that the venues will be ready in time,” he said.

The general secretary informed that the preparatory activities for the U-17 probables would start soon.

“Right now our coach is back in Sweden, while the players are back at their respective residences. There are some travel restrictions but we are working on how and when we can safely restart the camp.”

“The coach is quite hopeful because this is a situation that every team is facing. So we are all on a level playing field,” he said. “We had a number of exposure tours planned for the team but we will have to revisit those plans.”