Possible impact of staging the FIFA U-17 Football World Cup in India

It is now official! India will be the host of the U-17 FIFA World Cup for the first time. And for the first time, we will see an Indian team playing in this football extravaganza. It will certainly be an exciting moment for the football lovers of the country and this will surely bring a new dimension to Indian football. It will make a change in the present status of football infrastructure of the country, establish a supply line of players who will have the opportunity to compete against the best football playing nations and create hype which will make Indian football a destination for the corporate world. Moreover, it will announce a strong presence of India in the global map of football.

We often complain about the infrastructural facilities available in Indian football. The football stadiums lack basic amenities, such as proper entry and exit, comfortable seating positions, drinking water, food, clean toilet, security etc. In most of these stadiums, separate arrangements for attracting the families and the corporate sector are not available which act upon the short- term and long-term commercial interest of football. Connectivity with the main city is another problem with many of the existing football stadiums of India.

We may expect some of these problems to be solved as the existing stadiums will be upgraded as per the FIFA guidelines to ensure the spectators’ comfort, commercial interest, security arrangements and many other factors. The PPP (Public Private Partnership) model will be adopted in building these facilities where the financial and institutional support will be provided by the Government. And the Federation will be responsible for managing these facilities for holding matches. Arrangements will be made to ensure proper connectivity of these stadiums with the city. Therefore, it can be expected that the staging of one of the major football events will surely change the football infrastructure of this country.

This will also create an impact on the supply line of players which is lacking in India at the present moment. Academies will be set up and upgraded with modern facilities for nurturing the selected talents. Proper exposure will be provided to them for their training and development. Eminent coaches and managers will be entrusted with the responsibilities of selecting and nurturing these talents. The talents, who will be produced by these academies and who will represent India in the U-17 World Cup, will serve the country in the future and make Indians proud. The hosting of this tournament, therefore, is giving us an opportunity to strengthen the supply line of players which is a must for achieving our ambitions in football.

Football is the most popular discipline of sports in the world, but its popularity in India is suppressed due to the success of cricket. The on-ground successes of the national cricket team and the commercial support enjoyed by them give them a competitive advantage over the other disciplines of sports, including football. However, the situation may change and Indian football may regain its popularity in the country by staging and participating in the U-17 FIFA World Cup. Football of this country may not equate with the level of popularity and commercial success enjoyed by cricket even after the completion of the tournament, but it will surely create hype and generate interest which will create an impact in long run.

Despite its vast size, India, so far, has failed to produce a group of players who can make our presence felt in the global arena of football. The success of our national teams and clubs in the international arena of football is limited. However, by successfully staging the FIFA World Cup 2017, we can make a strong footstep in the football map of the world and make the world aware of the football prowess and organizing skills that we possess.

It is one of the rarest opportunities for Indian football which may provide a positive impetus for the all- round development of Indian football. However, we should not plan only for the event. We should also plan how we can sustain the development after the completion of the event. Commonwealth Games 2010 did not give us a direction for the overall development of sports after the completion of the event. U-17 Football World Cup should create a different example and should give us a comprehensive direction for the development of Indian football, even after the completion of the tournament.