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It was announced in December last year that India will host the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2017. India won the hosting rights for the tournament ahead of Ireland, Uzbekistan and 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts South Africa. By virtue of being the host of the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, India has an automatic place in the tournament proper.
This is the first time ever that a football tournament of this magnitude is being held in India, and has the potential of elevating the status of football in the country. Cricket and hockey have always been the two most popular sports in India, but the recent development provides a glimmer of hope to football fans across the country.
This is a wonderful opportunity for India to prove to FIFA that it is capable of hosting these world events. FIFA president Sepp Blatter once described India as a “sleeping giant” and urged the Indian government to allocate land and build infrastructure for football. The lack of proper infrastructure has been one of India’s major issues and has held India back from progressing as a footballing nation.
The Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in New Delhi, the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata and Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Chennai are the only stadiums in India that are capable of hosting international matches. With a dearth of world class football stadiums in India, it’s not hard to understand why India, a country with a population of 1.2 billion, is languishing at no.156 in the FIFA rankings.
Currently, the venues in the running to host the much awaited event are Kolkata, Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, Goa, Kochi, Chennai and Guwahati. Any six of the above mentioned eight venues will be finalized as host cities for the tournament by Inaki Alvarez, FIFA’s deputy director of competitions, sometime next year.
From the outset, India’s chances of hosting the tournament were positive. It was FIFA which encouraged the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to bid for the 24-nation biennial tournament. FIFA president Sepp Blatter is keen on lifting the profile of football in India, the 2nd most populous country in the world, and sees this as the perfect opportunity to create more interest in the game among Indians.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke visited India in 2012 and stressed his keenness to see football emerge as India’s no.1 sport. “Our main objective is to develop domestic football and bring it to the international level. People would take interest in watching Indian Domestic League and not just the English Premier League and the La Liga and so on. We want to improve the infrastructure as well. India is a large market and I cannot believe 1.2 billion people only play just cricket,” he said.
“This is the reason we want the U-17 World Cup in 2017 to take place in India. We aim to host World Cups in countries where football development is needed. India stays our primary area of focus. We have our Developmental Office in India,” he explained.
“That proves how serious we are about the 10-year project with India from 2012 to 2022. In between we have the 2017 World Cup bid and India’s aim to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.”
When news emerged of India being successful in their bid to host the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2017, the AIFF president Praful Patel stated that his blueprint for Indian football is on course.
“We have to ensure football is the No. 1 sport in the country and for that to happen the platform has been laid,” Patel said. “It will be a landmark event for India which will redefine Indian football.”
While this, without doubt, will be a landmark event in the history of Indian football, it may turn out to be a damp squib if the Indian U-17 team does not fare well in the tournament. It is imperative that the Indian team participating in the tournament is competitive at the very least to keep the interest alive in the tournament amongst the locals.
This is a golden opportunity for the Indian players, who will go on to take part in the tournament, to rub shoulders with the future Messis and Ronaldos of this world. With that being the case, the AIFF should ensure that they give the young kids the best facilities and coaching available in the next two-three years so that they can make the most of this chance.
The AIFF for a long time has ignored youth development, not realizing the importance of a flourishing youth system. If India has aspirations of competing with the best going into the future, focusing on the development of young players and giving them the right facilities to thrive is a must. Hopefully, the AIFF has come to its senses and will put youth development into prime focus going forward.
There is no lack of passion for the game in India, as evidenced by the fact that most young people in the cities nowadays follow the English Premier League fervently. If the AIFF can work towards attaining world class facilities for the players and fans alike come 2017, it will go a long way in ensuring that the Indian fans are receptive towards the Under-17 World Cup due to be hosted in 3 years’ time.
Indian football has been in the doldrums for many years, but this wasn’t always the case. India had qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup but the governing body AIFF decided against going to the World Cup due to being unable to bear the cost of travel, lack of practice time and valuing Olympics over the FIFA World Cup. Indian football was at the peak of its powers in the 1950s and early 1960s, but went into decline soon after winning the Asian games gold medal in 1962.
It would be fantastic if Indian football could restore the glory days by tasting the kind of success it achieved in the 1950s and 60s. One can only hope that India hosting the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup is just the beginning of the long overdue revival of football in this country.
