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FIFA President Sepp Blatter to visit India in March
Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA is all set to visit India in March to check on the country's developmental work in a bid to host the 2017 U-17 World Cup...
13-Feb-2012 5:39:00 PM
By Goal.com
Getty Images
Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president, is set to visit to India in early March to check for himself the developmental work in the country in its bid to host the 2017 U-17 World Cup.
Blatter will be in India on March 9 and thereafter shall head to Nepal which will play host to the Challenge Cup (March 8-19). Bangladesh may also find a place on his itinerary.
Although this is clearly a courtesy visit, Blatter will definitely be keen to check on the progress of football infrastructure in the country. He is due to meet the Executive Committee members of the AIFF who will update him on the various developmental work in the country which also includes the various FIFA sanctioned projects.
Subrata Dutta, the AIFF vice-president, also stressed on the world governing body for football giving importance to India inspite of its relatively low FIFA ranking.
"Blatter's visit shows how much importance FIFA is giving to India. The world body's support in building the right kind of infrastructure in the country has been beyond our expectations," Dutta was quoted saying.
"Already four FIFA supported academies are coming up at Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. The FIFA is even paying the salary of AIFF Academy Instructor Scot O'Donnell," he added.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been requested by the AIFF President, Praful Patel to meet with Sepp Blatter while he is in the country.
Talking about India's chances of hosting the showpiece event Dutta was pretty confident.
"2017 Under-17 World Cup may be held in India and we will be bidding for the event. We have got the assurance and our team is preparing the bid document. Since India could be the host nation, we will get a direct entry in to the tournament. It will encourage more kids to play football and take up it as a career option. It will also enable us to develop a quality structure for the sport."
"The World Cup matches, if we win the bod, will be played at Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Delhi and Guwahati," informed Dutta.
Blatter will be in India on March 9 and thereafter shall head to Nepal which will play host to the Challenge Cup (March 8-19). Bangladesh may also find a place on his itinerary.
Although this is clearly a courtesy visit, Blatter will definitely be keen to check on the progress of football infrastructure in the country. He is due to meet the Executive Committee members of the AIFF who will update him on the various developmental work in the country which also includes the various FIFA sanctioned projects.
Subrata Dutta, the AIFF vice-president, also stressed on the world governing body for football giving importance to India inspite of its relatively low FIFA ranking.
"Blatter's visit shows how much importance FIFA is giving to India. The world body's support in building the right kind of infrastructure in the country has been beyond our expectations," Dutta was quoted saying.
"Already four FIFA supported academies are coming up at Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. The FIFA is even paying the salary of AIFF Academy Instructor Scot O'Donnell," he added.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been requested by the AIFF President, Praful Patel to meet with Sepp Blatter while he is in the country.
Talking about India's chances of hosting the showpiece event Dutta was pretty confident.
"2017 Under-17 World Cup may be held in India and we will be bidding for the event. We have got the assurance and our team is preparing the bid document. Since India could be the host nation, we will get a direct entry in to the tournament. It will encourage more kids to play football and take up it as a career option. It will also enable us to develop a quality structure for the sport."
"The World Cup matches, if we win the bod, will be played at Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Delhi and Guwahati," informed Dutta.
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