Ahmedabad Gets Provisional Clearance to Host FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2020 Games

Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad has been cleared as a provisional venue for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2020 by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) on Sunday. The World Cup is set to take place in the country next year from November 2-21.

Ahmedabad received the privisional clearance after the FIFA delegation visited the country last month and checked the facilities in Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad and Navi Mumbai. The FIFA delegation had also expressed their satisfaction at the progress in the city upon inspection on November 30.

Tournament Director of the LOC of the U-17 Women's World Cup Roma Khanna confirmed to the media about the clearance received by Ahmedabad and called TransStadia "one of the best facilities" in India.

"We are happy to give a provisional clearance to Ahmedabad. The Government of Gujarat has committed it's full support and assistance into making the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2020 a big success in the state. TransStadia is one of the best facilities in the country at the moment, and we would like to congratulate the Government and the stadium authorities for being part of one of the most important events in the history of Indian football," Roma told the media on Sunday.

Ishwarsinh Patel, Minister of Sports, Youth and Cultural Activity, Government of Gujarat, was also present at the press conference and said, "It will be a huge honour for Gujarat to host the first FIFA tournament for women in the country. We are completely committed to fulfilling all our responsibilities towards making the tournament a success."

Back in November, Oliver Vogt, Project Lead of FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2020 had said after the inspection, "This is a beautiful stadium and we're very happy to be in Ahmedabad. We just have to make some amendments and modifications, but overall it is very positive. For us, it is important to have stakeholders who are behind this event, and who show dedication. We feel that here in Ahmedabad, and so we're confident that if the venue is picked, it will deliver a great tournament."