What's the story?
India could be set to host another FIFA event after this year's FIFA Under-17 World Cup as they have expressed an interest in hosting the Under-20 World Cup in 2019. The deadline for countries to declare their interest in hosting the event is 7th July and India has put itself in contention to stage another age-group World Cup.
The president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Praful Patel, was quoted as saying by Business Standard: "With India hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 this year in October, we feel hosting the U-20 World Cup would be the best way to sustain the footballing momentum in India. Even though the event was held earlier this year in Asia in Korea Republic, we would be happy to discuss with FIFA about the possibility of hosting the event in India in 2019."
The context
India is hosting the Under-17 World Cup this year. The tournament, starting on October 6th, will feature 24 teams as the Indian team looks set to make its debut in a FIFA tournament.
Preparations are nearing completion for the Under-17 World Cup which is less than 100 days away, and the draw for the tournament finals is scheduled for the 7th of July.
The heart of the matter
It has been almost four years since India was chosen as the host nation for the 2017 Under-17 World Cup, and Indian football has gone through a sea change during this period. With the advent of the Indian Super League (ISL) and the excitement over the World Cup, football has captured the imagination of the Indian mass in recent years.
Grassroots development initiatives have also been introduced across the country which can be primarily attributed to India gaining the hosting rights for this year's World Cup. Therefore, hosting another FIFA World Cup, albeit an age-group one, in quick succession will stand to accelerate the process that roughly started in 2013.
What's next?
It remains to be seen whether India's interest in hosting the 2019 Under-20 World Cup materialises into something concrete. Another Asian country, South Korea, hosted this year's Under-20 World Cup which England won. FIFA will send out bidding and hosting documents to the interested member associations on 14th July.
Expression of interest is the first of a five-step process to select the host country for the 2019 Under-20 World Cup. The result of the bidding process will be declared either by the end of 2017 or the start of 2018.
Author's take
With India's massive growth in interest in football in the recent past owing to the country hosting the Under-17 World Cup this year, bidding for the Under-20 World Cup is, as Patel said, a logical next step.
However, staging two FIFA events in quick succession could be an issue for a member association with little experience of hosting and participating in FIFA events. That being said, Indian football will stand to gain a lot more should they manage to beat the rival associations to win the hosting rights, similiar to the mini-revolution sparked by the Under-17 World Cup.
