BHUBANESWAR: Ahead of U-17 Women's World Cup 2020, a delegation of International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) visited Kalinga Stadium here on Friday.
The delegation headed by FIFA's Project Lead for the World Cup Oliver Vogt and accompanied by the members of Local Organising Committee (LOC) had a comprehensive inspection of the stadium and training facilities.
The delegates from the FIFA governing body expressed satisfaction over the preparation going on at Kalinga Stadium, one of the venues for the FIFA World Cup to be held from November 2 to 21 next year. Vogt said India is going to host FIFA World Cup for the second time and Bhubaneswar has been added to the list of possible venues for the international tournament for the first time.
“Bhubaneswar is one of the most sports-loving cities of the country. As per the commitment made by Odisha Government the preparation work is on the right track. The delegation is confident that Odisha can be a reliable partner of FIFA,” he said.
The FIFA delegation during their last visit in May had given the provisional nod for Kalinga Stadium. Altogether 16 top teams will take part in the World Cup in 2020 and of five different venues in the country, four will be chosen to host the matches.
Tournament Director Roma Khanna said Odisha has a glorious history of hosting different international events. “Like hockey we hope football will also be a frontline sports discipline for the State. We are sure that the stadium will be ready before due date,” she added.
The State has the track record of success in hosting big international sporting events including Asian Athletic Games, Asian Rugby, Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, FIH Hockey World League Final, Men’s Hockey World Cup 2018, Men's Series Finals in 2019 and the recently-concluded FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers.
Moved by the hospitality and commitment of the State, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has once again picked Odisha to host the next Men’s World Cup Hockey in 2023.
Sports and Youth Services Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev said the State Government is keen to host the FIFA world cup here. “We are ready to provide the infrastructural support needed for the tournament. We are also going to host Asian Wrestling Championship at Cuttack in February 2020,” he said.
The Kalinga Stadium has been finalised to host the World Cup 2022 qualifier match between India Vs Qatar men's football teams on March 2020. The stadium will be ready as per the FIFA guidelines by the end of February, added Dev.