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Newly appointed Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar welcomed the FIFA delegation to the state earlier today and pledged full support for the upcoming 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.
Commenting on the prospect of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Stadium in Fatorda soon playing host to an event of international repute, Parrikar said, “Goa is known for its love for football and we will ensure that no stone is left unturned in preparations for the tournament. It will be a wonderful opportunity for all Goans to witness a spectacle such as the World Cup.”
Earlier in the day, the seven-member delegation along with the Local Organising Committee visited the stadium and the training sites to take a comprehensive look at the facilities. The LOC and FIFA experts expressed their satisfaction with the work which has been put in at the venue.
Describing the preparations of the venue, Head of Tournaments for FIFA, Jaime Yarza said, “I am pretty excited to see the way the stadium has shaped over the last year – since I last came here, it played host to the World Cup Qualifiers and from the reports, I gauge that the authorities here did a great job at it.”
“Also, the meeting with the Chief Minister was pretty fruitful – he assured us of continued support and that all requirements would be met leading up to the tournament.”
Tournament Director of the LOC, Javier Ceppi said, “Goa had the advantage of having hosted the AFC U-16 Championship 2016, which helped in having the infrastructure very advanced by September last year”.
Speaking about the readiness of the venue, he added, “On the infrastructure front, things are almost ready but we now need to go into the finer details of all the operation plans such as security, transport, health, promotions etc. We will keep working with the authorities of the State Government just as we have done for the past two and a half years to make sure that all the responsibilities for the state are complied with.”
The delegation after visiting New Delhi and Goa will continue its inspection visit to the remaining venues Kochi, Navi Mumbai, Guwahati and Kolkata.
by AIFF Media
