The “city of joy”, Kolkata, set to get another reason to celebrate if things go the way of IFA President Subrata Dutta as he tussles to bring the final of the 2017 FIFA U17 final to the Salt Lake stadium.
Dutta sounded confident of Kolkata bagging the rights the final of the 2017 FIFA World Cup. Speaking to the media at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan on the occasion of tournament director Javier Ceppi's visit to the Salt Lake stadium to assess the facilities, Dutta quipped, ”Considering the football fever that infects the Kolkata people prior to any major football tournament, I am confident that Kolkata will not be deprived of the honour of hosting the final.”
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Home of the biggest stadium in the country, the two biggest clubs and the current ISL champions, Kolkata looks like the perfect venue for the final of the biggest tournaments in the nation’s history.
Ceppi, however, remained tightlipped regarding his own assessment of the venue. However, the man from Chile was full of admiration for the work being put in behind the scenes.
“Salt Lake is huge (stadium) with a capacity of over a lakh. Considering that, the work that has been done so far, I am extremely happy.
“Kudos to the state government and the IFA for ensuring such a seamless delivery of the refurbishment work,” said the South American.
Kolkata to set the standards
Whilst being tightlipped regarding the promotional plans of the tournament, Ceppi remained hopeful that the city of Kolkata will set the benchmark when it comes to the crowd in the stands. And with tickets being reasonably priced at around Rs. 100, it will hopefully not be an issue.
“It (the promotional plans) would be based on the schedule as and when the same gets finalised, by July.
“Tickets will be sold from the middle of May and it will be less than what you pay for a movie, or for any outing of like nature.
“We are trying to keep it at an economical figure of less than Rs 100. In a state of around 90 million people, filling the stadium will not be an issue”.
However, the Indian team will not get an opportunity to conduct any practice session at the Salt Lake Stadium before the tournament kicks off. There, however, might be a few trial sessions before the final go-ahead to check the ground condition.
Whilst much talk has been around the surface (which has been converted from a synthetic surface to a natural one) and the seats, Ceppi was quick to remind that it was not merely the space in between the white lines and chairs in the stands that determine the readiness of a venue.
“It is not just the pitch, but the adjoining facilities, that determines a stadium’s readiness to host a tournament of this stature,” quipped the Chilean.
A huge task all around
The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be held in India with 24 participating teams, starting from October 6, 2017. The tournament will held across six venues, viz. Kolkata, Kochi, New Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Guwahati and Margao with the final scheduled on October 28, 2017. With 52 matches, each stadium is bound to host at least eight games.
On the average expected attendance, Ceppi was quick to add, “This is the first time India is hosting a World Cup and thus the expectations will be as per the benchmark of a country hosting it for the first time. Nobody likes to see empty seats but we cannot use pre-established standards as this is a new event. With due cooperation from the government and IFA, so far we are well on course to achieve massive success with the tournament.”
With the ISL adding the zing to the Indian football scene, the FIFA U17 World Cup will come as another shot in the arm. With the infrastructure being built as per world standards, one would only that the good work reaps its benefits as Indian football looks to go from strength to strenth.
