Kochi gets all clear for U-17 Cup

Tracy Lu, project lead for the Fifa Under-17 World Cup, hands over a ceremonial event pennant to Kerala Football Association president K.M.I Mather (right) and Mohammed Hanish, state government’s nodal officer, in Kochi on Wednesday. (Photo: Sunoj Ninan Mathew)

It’s official. Kochi has been confirmed as a venue for the Fifa U-17 World Cup in 2017. The city is the first in the country to be ratified for the showpiece event.

The announcement was made here Wednesday after an inspection of the main venue, Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, by an 18-member Fifa delegation headed by project lead, Tracy Lu. “We are extremely pleased to announce that Kochi has been ratified as a venue for the U-17 World Cup,” said tournament director Javier Ceppi.

India won the bid to host the World Cup in December 2013 and 10 cities were shortlisted, out of which six were provisionally selected to be venues for the event that is scheduled for September-October next year.

The Fifa delegation said that it will take stock of the progress made by the other five projected venues in Navi Mumbai, Goa, New Delhi, Guwahati and Kolkata, in coming weeks.

Kochi has also been selected for the unveiling of the tournament ‘mascot’ and the event is expected later this year. The World Cup’s official emblem was launched last month in Goa by Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

After declaring Kochi as a venue for the 24-country event, Ceppi urged local organisers to ensure that the venues are fully ready by March next year. “It is not a blank cheque and there are still things to be completed,” he said.