After Kochi, Navi Mumbai gets nod for U-17 World Cup

Navi Mumbai became the second venue after Kochi to be ratified for next year’s Fifa U-17 World Cup in India.

A 23-member delegation comprising experts from Fifa and the local organising committee visited the DY Patil Stadium here on Thursday morning and was satisfied with the infrastructure and facilities in place and gave it the final nod.

Tournament director Javier Ceppi who has been praising the ground since conceptualising it in 2014 as a possible venue for the premier junior event, was happy with the preparations. “The stadium has completed most of the things and just couple of minor things are remaining. It is a world class stadium and Vijay Patil and his team have done some quality work. I congratulate them for this. It is a benchmark for other stadiums in India,” Ceppi said.

“Normally we take over the stadium 15 days prior to the tournament but we are so happy about this stadium that we may take it over just few days before the tournament,” Ceppi added.

Besides the main stadium, four training pitches were also cleared and the delegation was happy with the facilities for players and hotel accommodations.

“We were here in February and I am happy to be back here. People here have done some extraordinary work so far. It was a good decision by Javier to select it as a venue. It is a very good venue,” Tracy Lu, project lead Fifa U-17 World Cup India, said.

Said DY Patil Sports Academy president Vijay Patil, “The delegates have been very professional and gave priority to players’ areas rather than hospitality. It (the U-17 World Cup) will be a historic and watershed moment for Indian football and Navi Mumbai in particular,” he said.

The delegation will also visit Goa on Saturday before moving to New Delhi (Oct. 23), Guwahati (Oct. 24) and Kolkata (Oct. 25).