The FIFA Under-17 World Cup’s Inspection Committee is scheduled to visit Kochi today after their visits to Delhi on March 22, followed by Goa on March 23.
In Delhi, the Committee spoke about the need to work on the training and “a lot of improvements.” FIFA’s head of tournaments Jamie Yarza spoke about the need for the capital city to lift its game while meeting the tournament’s requisit standards.
“Delhi is a very important city in the world and I think the stadium has to look really top-notch. This is the capital of the country and it cannot settle for just meeting the requirements,” Yarza said.
The major concern surrounding Delhi as a potential venue is the air quality and pollution standards. Yarza mentioned that they were infact monitoring the situation closely, considering the tournament to be held from October 6 to 28 would be close to the festival of Diwali. Another topic of discussion centred about the completion of the competition areas.
The original deadline for the completion of work had lapsed and this has now been extended to the end of April. Delhi will have four training centres: Sudeva FC, Delhi University and the remaining two within the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
In Goa, the committee spoke about the dwindling crowds that the game is facing in the state. The AFC Under-16 championship was also held in Goa, and witnessed crowds of close to 4000, something Yarza said was “far away from having a full stadium.”
Currently, the state is hosting the Santosh Trophy final tournament and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) have also in the past accused the clubs based in the state of not being able to draw crowds.
As such, this statement may mean that Goa may not host any of the important matches on account of low spectator interest in the state. The committee did praise the work at the stadium, stating that the majority of the work has been completed.
After the turn of Delhi and Goa, the Committee is scheduled to visit Kochi (24th), Navi Mumbai (25th), Guwahati (26th) and wind up with Kolkata on the 27th.
With FIFA categorically ruling out back-up venues and holding the draw and a final inspection in July, the pressure is on the six venues to be completed on time.
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