With the entire country gearing up for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the AIFF has made a big promise to the entire world. The vice president of the All India Football Federation, Subrata Dutta has said that the FIFA U-17 WC will not be like the CWG 2010 in New Delhi.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games was infamous for its corruption and poor infrastructural facilities. Post the event, Sheila Dixit had said that the accommodation facilities were not even made when the athletes had started arriving in New Delhi.
ALSO READ : Indian Youth shine in the Asian Youth Athletics Championships
But the AIFF has promised that there will be no such repeat, as the preparations for the event have begun well in advance.
“It will be different (from the Commonwealth Games),” Dutta told AFP at the World Football Forum in Changsha, China.
“I think it will really make us proud and we will be able to give our best.”
“We would give our best to deliver the best ever U-17 World Cup. We are working on this for the past two-and-a-half years and we have nearly built up the infrastructure that is required… the finishing touches are on now,” Dutta said.
ALSO READ : Bengaluru FC beat Mohun Bagan 2-0 to win the Federation Cup
“Everything has been looked after by the professionals,” he added. “FIFA has been guiding us at regular intervals and I’m sure that we will put up a very good show.”
“I think we have to wait for a while until we’re capable of a senior World Cup.”
Being able to host the U-17 World Cup is definitely a good sign for Indian football. In spite of having 1.3 billion people, the national football team has a lowly rank of 100 in the latest FIFA rankings.
But there is hope that Indian football will rise up the ladder in the coming years.
