Kochi: A 23-member delegation composed of experts from FIFA and FIFA U-17 Local Organising Committee (LOC) visited Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi today and approved it as one of the venues of the FIFA 2017 U-17 World Cup.
After this green signal for hosting the FIFA World Cup, the LOC’s Tournament Director, Javier Ceppi, said at the press conference,”Based on what we have seen and based on all the works we have done with the Government of Kerala, with the Kerala Football Association, with all the different stakeholders here in Kochi, we are extremely pleased to announce that Kochi has been ratified as a venue for FIFA U-17 World Cup. Congratulations!”
Adding further about the venue completion, the Tournament Director said, “There are a few things that need to be completed, few things that need to be done. We would keep monitoring closely, would closely work with the Government of Kerala to make sure that all the readiness is there and all the compliance is there for the World Cup.”
Speaking about the preparations, Tracy Lu, Project Lead FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, satisfied with the venue and ongoing preparations, stated, “We are extremely happy with the progress we see here; from our last inspection a lot of development already taking place and that’s extremely encouraging. The dressing rooms, for instances have been renovated and a lot of other construction work has been initiated. I believe thus that it would make for a terrific World Cup venue.”
Besides Kochi, the team will be finalizing five more venues for the first ever FIFA event at India.