Carles Puyol to visit India

Former Spain and Barcelona defender Carles Puyol will visit India to promote the FIFA U-17 World Cup, to be played from October 6-28, 2017, the governing body said in a release.

“I’m very excited and curious to discover the country and its people. I’m really drawn to the culture of India, its traditional medicine, its food and, of course, the way football is developing there.”

Former Spain and Barcelona defender Carles Puyol will visit India to promote the FIFA U-17 World Cup, to be played from October 6-28, 2017, the governing body said in a release.

The main promotional activity the former Barca skipper will be involved is for the launch of ticket sales. The first set of tickets for India’s biggest box-office event will go live on May 16. The ticket sales will go live, on FIFA.com, at 19:11 hours, as a tribute to the year in which Indian football made history. It was the first time that an Indian football team, Mohun Bagan, won the IFA shield by defeating an English team, East Yorkshire Regiment.

Puyol, who won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championship with Spain, will grace multiple events between May 15 and 17 in New Delhi and Mumbai.

Anticipating what will be his first visit to India, Carles Puyol said, “I’m very excited and curious to discover the country and its people. I’m really drawn to the culture of India, its traditional medicine, its food and, of course, the way football is developing there, which is one of the main reasons behind my visit.”

Talking about the ticket launch, he said, “I would tell them that the experience of seeing a match live is completely different from watching it on television. You can feel the intensity and energy when you’re there in person. And at this tournament, you can see the stars of the future. I’m sure that those who attend will remember it and get hooked by the sport.”