New Delhi: India will host the U-17 Women's World Cup in 2020, International Football Federation (FIFA) President Gianni Infantino announced on Friday.
"We are delighted to announce that India has been confirmed as the host of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in 2020," Infantino said after the FIFA Council meeting in Miami, USA,
This will be the second FIFA tournament India will be hosting, after the U-17 Men's World Cup in 2017.
Confirming the development, All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das told PTI: "We are thankful to FIFA for giving the right to host the U-17 Women's World Cup. This will raise the profile of women's football in the country.
"We have been giving a lot of emphasis on the development of women's football in the country. So we bid for the U-17 Women's World Cup and now we have got it."
The bidding process for the tournament started last year. France had also expressed interest to host the tournament.
Das said the venues to host the mega event will be decided soon.
"We have four-five venues in mind and we will finalise them soon."
As host country, India automatically qualifies for the 16-team showpiece event. The six continental qualifying tournaments are yet to begin.
Besides the U-17 Women's WC, India had also expressed interest in hosting the U-20 Women's World Cup.
The U-17 women's tournament began in 2008, when New Zealand hosted it. Spain are the current champions and they had beaten Mexico 2-1 in the final in Uruguay last year. The tournament in India will be the seventh edition.
Asian teams are the most successful teams in the tournament, with North Korea (2008 and 2016) having won it twice while Japan (2014) and South Korea (2010) had won it once each.
France (2012) and Spain (2018) are the only non-Asian teams to have won the tournament.
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Belagavi: The state cabinet under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has reportedly given its nod to permit cricket matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, subject to certain conditions.
The decision is learnt to have been taken after a meeting held at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha here on Thursday.
Reports indicate that Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara has been directed to formulate rules along with a referendum to hold a cricket match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The cabinet’s approval comes subject to conditions, considering the report of Justice D’Cunha, which was prepared after the stampede.
The June 4 stampede during the celebrations for RCB’s maiden IPL title killed 11 people, which raised serious questions over the stadium's capability to host large-scale events.
Will RCB be playing at their home ground next year?
Stating that the “state had learned from the tragedy,” Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday, December 08, dismissed the talks about shifting Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s home games out of the city.
He also said that the Chinnaswamy Stadium is the “pride of Bengaluru and Karnataka” and vowed that IPL fixtures will continue to be played there.
On Wednesday, Shivakumar met the newly elected KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad at the Circuit House in Belagavi and reiterated that cricket matches, including IPL fixtures, will not be shifted out of Bengaluru.
“We have no intention of stopping matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium, but crowd control measures and the Michael D. Cunha committee’s recommendations will be implemented in phases,” he told reporters.
Shivakumar said the government is committed to promoting cricket and supporting fans while safeguarding the state’s reputation, adding that Prasad had sought the government’s cooperation and agreed to work jointly on the issue.
