New Delhi will not host any matches of the Fifa Under-17 World Cup after Diwali on October 19 as officials are concerned about how the poor air quality in the Capital will affect players, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.
As per the schedule, Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will serve as the venue for eight matches and host its last match of the tournament on October 16. It will not host the quarter-finals, the semi-finals or the final.
Fifa’s head of events Jaime Yarza told The Indian Express that the pollution in Delhi after Diwali festivities had been taken into account for their decision.
In a report in February, the newspaper had quoted tournament director Javier Ceppi as saying, “Until Diwali, October is decent, you can play. But after Diwali, it [pollution] shoots to a level that is extremely, extremely unhealthy.”
Fifa officials had announced on Monday that Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium will host the Under-17 World Cup final on October 28. A delegation of the football association had been taking a tour of venues in India to decide the venues of the 24-team event.
The tournament begins with two matches on October 6 – Navi Mumbai and New Delhi will host the opening games. The two semi-finals will be held in Guwahati and Navi Mumbai. The committee had also looked at stadiums in Goa and Kochi.
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