Kolkata: The world governing body of football FIFA on Friday made it clear that it was not on par with the Indian government’s decision of hosting an opening ceremony for the U-17 World Cup and instead asked them to spend the money on developing the game in the country.
The FIFA does not host any opening ceremony for the tournaments that it governs. So the governing body since the beginning had refused the plea of the Indian government to host an opening ceremony a day prior to the first match of the U-17 World Cup. The sports ministry adamant in it’s decision had planned to host the opening ceremony either on 5th or 6th of October.
Jaime Yarza, The FIFA tournament head said, “To be in line with previous tournaments, and in the best interest of the sport, we believe that the main focus should remain on football and the players, and that the investment necessary for an opening ceremony is better deployed in the youth and in football development of the country even more so now with the AIFF’s ambitious plans to lay solid foundations for India’s footballing future.”
He added, “FIFA and the Local Organising Committee of the FIFA U-17 World Cup have been working very closely with the Government of India to make the upcoming tournament a great success. During the course of this work, FIFA has been informed about the GoI’s interest in holding an opening ceremony for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.”
With FIFA not sanctioning a penny more than what had been given for the preparations of the World Cup, the Indian Government has approved an amount of rupees 10 crore to host the ceremony, which is expected to be presided by prime minister Narendra Modi. The programme reportedly is set to be held at the Dhyanchand National Stadium in New Delhi.
The FIFA U-17 World Cup which is the first biggest footballing event to be hosted by India, will be played across six cities that includes, Kolkata, New Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Guwahati, Kochi and Margao.
Praising the effort of the Indian government to support the organisers of the tournament, Yarza said, “The Government of India, and most importantly the Prime Minister of India, are important partners in this U-17 World Cup. The government’s backing of the tournament over the past three years and commitment to change the sporting culture in the country is something we are very proud of and happy about.”
“They have relentlessly supported the tournament and encouraged the Indian people, through the tournament’s legacy programme Mission XI Million, to play football and to attend the matches in the six host cities,” he added.
With the tournament set to begin in less than a month, which will see a total number of 24 countries across the globe compete for the most prized possession, Yarza just hoped that with all the preparations going according to plan, India’s first FIFA tournament will be a huge success.