New Delhi is set to host next year's FIFA U-17 World Cup. 13 members of the FIFA delegation, along with ten members of the Local Organising Committee travelled to the Indian Capital and approved it as the next venue. The city's stadium was given the green signal after the team conducted a full inspection of the pitch, the training facilities, and facility owners assured all renovations would be completed before March 2017.
All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das said, "We have been working with different stakeholders in the country from the start of this process and it is good that we are now seeing the results in the ground. FIFA is satisfied with the progress of all the venues visited so far, and it gives us a big fillip for next year's tournament. We will put every effort into making the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 a memorable occasion for all Indian football fans."
Javier Ceppi, Tournament Director of the LOC, said, "Work has finally started here and we hope it progresses well. It took sometime but we are confident of the capacity of SAI to complete everything well in time for the event, so that we can test all the facilities. We have been working closely with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Sports Authority of India to make sure that the renovation works go as planned and we are able to deliver the tournament successfully in New Delhi."
Also present at the event, Sagarpreet Hooda, IPS & Director – Sports, MoYAS, Sanjiv Baranwal- Director, Infrastructure SAI, Joy Bhattacharya- Project Director LOC, and FIFA's Event Manager for the U-17 World Cup from FIFA, Marion Mayer-Vorfelder. Marion said, "We have been shown the plans for the renovation and we will be looking very carefully into the way the venue progresses to make it fully compliant. We hope that the pace of works now picks up and that we can have the facility match ready as soon as possible. "
