What’s the story?
With months left before the much awaited FIFA Under-17 World Cup kicks off in India, tournament director Javier Ceppi said during his visit to Kolkata that the ticket prices for the showpiece event will be less than Rs. 100 to make it reasonable.
As quoted from The Telegraph, following the inspection of the Salt Lake stadium, Javier Ceppi said, “Ticket prices will be affordable. It will be less than what one spends in watching a movie in India.”
In case you didn’t know...
The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be held in India between 6th and 28th October in six venues. This will be the first time that a football tournament of this magnitude will be held in India. 24 teams, including host nation, India, will compete in the 17th edition of the tournament.
The heart of the matter
It was feared that the stands of the six stadiums might be empty during the matches, but the Chilean feels that it is possible to bring more people to the stadiums by keeping the ticket prices very affordable.
A sum of 150-crore is reportedly being spent by the state government for the Under-17 World Cup.
Much was said about the progress of work at the iconic Salt Lake stadium, in Kolkata, but the FIFA official was pretty happy and impressed with the renovation process. He feels that the progress of work at the site has been “stupendous”, considering the huge size of the stadium.
Also read: 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup: “Kolkata will not be deprived of the final,” says Subrata Dutta
“I would say I am more than satisfied with the work. Taking into account the size of the stadium the progress has been stupendous. You have to understand one thing. This stadium is humongous. The capacity was 1,20,000. Now it will be 87,000. You can understand how difficult a job it is to renovate this stadium,” said the FIFA Under-17 FIFA World Cup tournament director.
What’s next?
The 24-team tournament will begin on October 6, later this year with Kolkata, Kochi, New Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Guwahati and Goa being the venues for the much-anticipated event. It is the first time that the nation will be staging a football tournament of this stature. Football in India will hopefully be taken more seriously after the World Cup.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Football following in India is confined to a few pockets; Kolkata, Goa, North-East and Bengaluru are the places which enjoy a fair support for the game. It is expected that the FIFA Under-17 World Cup will spread the popularity of the game to greater heights in the country.
Ticket prices at less than Rs. 100 is a brilliant initiative to bring fans to the stadium and, we feel, that the football-mad fans will come in huge numbers to support not only India but other countries as well.
