The government gave the go-ahead for India’s bid to host the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, the Sports Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
While gaining the government’s approval may have been a shot in the arm, the odds are still stacked against India in the attempt to host the U-17 showpiece.
A communique issued after the closing session of the FIFA Congress last week revealed that 4 other countries apart from India had expressed interest in hosting the tournament - South Africa, Republic of Ireland, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Of the five bidders, India has the least to boast of in terms of footballing pedigree. It is the lowest ranked country of the lot, with the next-worst Azerbaijan coming 29 places earlier. South Africa has the necessary infrastructre in place, having just succesfully hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while Uzbekistan are currently the Asian U-16 champions and an U-17 World Cup quarterfinalist.
Ireland and Azerbaijan - the two European countries in the fray - probably have the best chance of hosting the tournament, with 2017 seemingly being Europe’s turn to host the U-17 World Cup. The continent last staged the event in 2003, when Finland played hosts. Since then Asia has hosted it twice and Africa once, while South America will host it thrice after the completion of the 2015 event in Chile.
But India’s biggest adversary is itself, with the bid coming just months after the AFC denied clubs from the country a place in the Champions League, due to a lack of infrastructure. But AIFF president Praful Patel seemed confident about the country’s chances of hosting the tournament. “This is an extremely positive development for Indian football and I am confident India will be able to make a formidable and successful bid with the backing of the Union Government of India even though there are some other strong contenders,” he said in a statement.
The AIFF will have to agree to all of FIFA’s terms and conditions and submit a complete bid book by November 15. The hosts for the tournament will be announced in December.