BHUBANESWAR: Kalinga Stadium was on Tuesday given provisional clearance to host FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup 2020 to be played in India.
The premier stadium is among the five venues (Goa, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Mumbai are the other cities in the race) shortlisted by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the prestigious global football event. If things fall in place, it may well be among the final four.
Tournament director of the Local Organising Committee, Roma Khanna, said: “We are happy to give a provisional clearance to the city of Bhubaneswar and confirm them as the first venue for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to be provisionally selected. I would like to congratulate the state of Odisha for being part of what is sure to be a cornerstone event for women’s football in the country.”
She added: “There is work remaining, and the state government has to bring up the stadium and the training sites to FIFA standards. But we are satisfied with the commitment exhibited by the government to complete all the work that is required to obtain the full ratification.”
The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will have a lasting influence in sports in India and Odisha, and will upgrade the infrastructure to FIFA standards. The Kalinga Stadium stands to become the first to host a FIFA competition in Odisha.
“We are in touch with Odisha Government since the start of the bidding process by AIFF for the World Cup,” Khanna told New Indian Express.
She said the state government’s vision for promoting sports is impressive. “The passion and support for football in Odisha is commendable. We are confident the state has the potential to meet the requirements of FIFA,” the tournament director said.
Kalinga Stadium, though, has to meet stringent FIFA’s guidelines on infrastructure and facilities. Khanna told the daily that the stadium is required to have a minimum of four training grounds for as many teams.
Sports and Youth Services department Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev said the state government is glad to be associated with the tournament, the first contest for women in India and maiden FIFA tournament for Odisha.
“We are developing and upgrading our infrastructure as per FIFA guidelines and confident of getting the final clearance for hosting the event,” NIE quotes Dev as having said.
Stating that Odisha has tremendous potential for hosting international events, Dev said 10 such events have been held in the state in the last five years.
The FIFA Under-17 Men’s World Cup-2017, in which 24 countries participated, was held in six different stadiums across the country. The Women’s World Cup will witness the participation of 16 teams which will be divided into four groups.
The final inspection of the venues will be held later this year.
