Cabinet nod for signing of guarantees for FIFA U-17 women's world cup

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday approved the signing of guarantees for hosting the Under-17 FIFA Women's World Cup in India from October 11 to 30.

The approval of the Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, came after the re-constitution of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which was banned by FIFA briefly last month citing "third party influence".

India is hosting the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Navi Mumbai, Goa and Bhubaneswar from October 11 to October 17 this year.

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said Rs 60 crore will be spent for hosting the tournament that will see participation of 16 teams, including India.

An assistance of Rs 10 crore to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for field of play maintenance, stadium power, energy and cabling, stadia and training site branding will be met from the budgetary allocation for the Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs), Thakur said.

The FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup would encourage more youngsters to participate in sports and help develop the sport of football in India.

The event will not only promote football as sport of choice among Indian girls, but is also poised to leave a lasting legacy that will facilitate girls and women in the country to embrace football and sports in general.

The previous edition of the event was held in Uruguay in 2018 where Spain had emerged as the champion. In 2017, India successfully hosted the FIFA Under-17 Men's World Cup India-2017 at six different venues.