Mumbai: Former Manchester United star Ryan Giggs feels that the U-17 World Cup, which is to be held in India for the first time in it’s history could attract a lot of people and increase the fan-base if given a good exposure by the Indian media.
“Well a lot of things have to be right, (like) exposure on TVs. The reporting of the event has to be good it has to capture the imagination. If the people sit down with their families and watch it, it can have a massive effect,” said the soccer legend, during a chat with the journalists in Mumbai on Friday.
Drawing a comparison with his country Wales he said, “Wales had never been to a major championship for nearly 60 years and then they went on to reach the semifinal (in Euro 2016). The impact that had on Wales as a country was huge. If India gets it right, it can only be good in the long run for football in India.”
Giggs, who is in his second visit to the country to play the second season of the Premier Futsal also said that despite cricket being the number one sport, there are still ‘lots of football fans in India’ and if the tournament is given good exposure it can have the same impact as the Euros had on Wales, where the whole country watched their team make it into a major champjonship after 60 years and also make it to the semi-finals.
“The impact it had on Wales as a country was huge not only for the next couple of months, but actually a generation,” he said.
The 43-year-old also believes that futsal can impact football, similarly how T20 has impacted cricket as it consumes a lesser amount of time and energy.
He said, “Test cricket is the top level, but T20 took the sport on to a different audience, and futsal can do that because technically there is lot of difference. It is more accessible because you only need 10 players.”
Talking about futsal, he also added that he never thought of it during his playing days or when he was coaching. “When I finished at Manchester United, there were various opportunities and I didn’t want to just stop and wonder what I am going to do next, I had to plan for the next two or three months.”
“When I finished I went to the Euro in France and did some TV work and the next thing was futsal,” he added.
The infrastructure of the country has improved to international standards: AIFF president Praful Patel
AIFF chief Praful Patel on Friday stated that the infrastructure of India has now been raised to international standards, for the next month’s U-17 World Cup. He also added that the success of the tournament will attract more of the youth into the game.
“For a country like India, the priority remains to make a mark on the world stage and the FIFA U-17 World Cup hosting rights could not have come at a better time. The overall infrastructure of the country has been improved to be at par with the international standards, which will benefit Indian football immensely,” he said.
Patel also informed that the success of the U-17 World Cup could go a long way in helping India getting the hosting rights of the U-20 World Cup in future.
He said, “I think hosting the U-20 FIFA World Cup will be the next logical step for the development of football in India.”
“With India hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 this year in October, we feel hosting the U-20 World Cup would be the best way to sustain the footballing momentum in India,” he added.