The postponement of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will not derail preparations for the tournament as the country is still committed to “delivering a memorable” meet whenever it is possible, Roma Khanna, the tournament director of Local Organising Committee, said. “We were, of course, looking forward to the tournament but everyone understands the current situation and has been supportive,” Roma said.
“The fact that three of the venues (Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, Guwahati) have already hosted a FIFA tournament in the past helps and the other venues seem on track. Everyone is committed to ensuring that this does not impact us much and we move ahead with our planning and deliver a memorable U-17 Women’s World Cup in India,” she said.
She added that the LOC will work with FIFA to chalk out alternate dates best suited to host the tournament in India which has previously hosted the U-17 Men’s World Cup which was won by England.
"We shall work with FIFA to look at alternate dates best suited to host the tournament in India. At present, in collaboration with FIFA, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Hosting States, national and international health authorities, we are constantly monitoring the situation regarding COVID-19 in India.”
“We are in regular touch with FIFA and all the other concerned stakeholders. Three of the venues (Guwahati, Kolkata and Navi Mumbai) hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017 and already meet the majority of FIFA requirements. The two new venues, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar, also have the basic infrastructure ready. We also already had one round of FIFA inspections in November at all five of these venues, which went really well.
“It is a tough decision but it is in the best interest of everyone especially the players. As I have said before, the safety of the players, fans and all the other stakeholders is of utmost importance to us. We look forward to hosting a spectacular FIFA U-17 Women’s WC in the near future,” she concluded.