India set to bid for U-20 World Cup in the near future

Serbia are the current World Champions after beating Brazil in 2015

After earning the hosting rights for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017, India is set to continue its upward surge, in terms of international representation as the All India Football Federation plans to bid for the U-20 World Cup in the near future. According to AIFF General Secretary, Kushal Das, it could be as early as 2019, with the bidding process set to commence in 2017.

Speaking at Soccerex convention in Manchester, Das said, “If we are going to host the U-17 World Cup, definitely we will look to host bigger events. Going forward, we will be bidding for the Under-20 World Cup, it’s a natural progression.”

He went on to add that hosting of World Cups, add an infrastructural boost to football and gives the country international representation. The U-20 World Cup happens every two years and India is planning on bidding in 2017 for the 2019 edition.

Das said, “The All India Football Federation is planning to launch a campaign called Mission 11, the aim is to have 11 million youngsters from around the country involved with the sport of football. The campaign will merge with the 2017 World Cup and will transform the Indian football landscape in the coming years.” He was supremely confident that Mission 11 will be carried out by the end of 2017.

The crowd support in India is electric: Peter Reid

The discussion on Indian football was titled, “India: The Time is now”. Apart from Das, FC Mumbai City Coach, Peter Reid was also invited to add his experiences from the country. He said, “the crowd support in India is electric. No matter where you go, people watch and discuss football. With the Under 17 World Cup and ISL, I am confident that the sport is bound to grow.”

Das also spoke about the importance of having a single economically stable league and also added that it was a problem that two leagues were running simultaneously, but a good one to have. He stated, “We are talking to all stakeholders about the potential transition, but it will take some time.”

The U-20 World Cup came into existence in 2007, taking over from the FIFA World Youth Championships. It is held in every two years with the 2015 edition being held in New Zealand. Serbia are he current Champions having defeated Brazil 2-1 in the finals.

In the five World Cups that have been held till date, there has been a different winner every time. Argentina, Ghana, Brazil and France are the other teams who have won the competition.