FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017: The amazing transformation of Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium

Kolkata's historic Salt Lake Stadium was yesterday officially handed over to the FIFA U-17 World Cup's Local Organising Committee and apparently left them spellbound.

Javier Ceppi, the tournament director for the U-17 World Cup, expressed his delight at the current condition of the stadium, far removed from its decrepit state before renovation work began.

The Chilean said: "If you ask me it looks like a museum, be the entrance or the inside. Or like the teams said it looks the lobby of a five-star hotel.

"You see and the stadium looks nothing like it used to before. That's because the stadium needed to be fit to host a World Cup final, the most important football match to be hosted in India's history.

"They (West Bengal government) took the challenge. This stadium now can be compared to other stadiums in the world that have hosted a FIFA World Cup final."

Without further ado, let's take a look at the new, refurbished Salt Lake Stadium, courtesy of the good folks at East Bengal Ultras. You should give them a follow on Facebook here.

The refurbished Salt Lake Stadium, which will host the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, will hold a capacity of about 66,000 spectators. The World Cup kicks off on 8th October in Kolkata and a big game - Chile vs England - will be the perfect opening for what the football crazy people of Kolkata call the "Mecca of football".