India to host 2020 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has announced that India has won the bid for the biennial FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2020 and it will also provide India with a direct qualification into the event in which they have never played. The AIFF had hosted the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup earlier in 2017.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) had laid out an ambitious plan for hosting various FIFA and AFC tournaments in the country in the forthcoming period, and it comes as a great news that India has been given the rights for hosting the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup right after the success of the U-17 Men’s World Cup which was played in 2017 in India.Â
"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, reported 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," AIFF general secretary Kushal Das told PTI.
India will earn a direct qualification for the World Cup which the team has never been a part of. However, the federation has clarified that they have a few venues in mind and will confirm the venues soon.
"We have four-five venues in mind and we will finalise them soon," Das notified.
At the moment, the India women’s national team is taking part in the SAFF Women’s Championship where it started its campaign with a thumping 6-0 win over
Spain
The AFC U-16 Championship acts as a qualifying tournament for the 16-team U-17 World Cup. India finished at a disappointing third in their respective group in the 2016 edition, also held in India, but they will be delighted to qualify on the virtue of being the hosts.