Goa could still host FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup matches

FATORDA: Despite Goa missing out as one of the five selected venues to host the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, Nehru Stadium, Fatorda could still play host to the prestigious FIFA event.

The number of venues for the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, to be held in India later this year, is likely to be reduced owing to the pandemic and if this happens, there is high possibility that Goa could be considered as one of the venues to host the event.

Jaime Yarza, FIFA’s Director of Tournaments, said on Tuesday that they are ‘open’ to the possibility but no decision has been taken yet as they inspected the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda on Thursday.

“Well in principle we are not considering a single venue for the tournament. We still want to spread it over India in various cities. We just need to evaluate which is the safest option. Goa did very well in 2017 as well as proven experience in hosting tournaments during the pandemic. It’s a natural condition to be evaluated in this stage,” Yarza explained.

“We know it’s a football State, it has a proven record in super organisation of tournaments and that is one of the reasons why we decided to include Goa in our report,” he added.

Speaking further Yarza said, “One of the main constraints that we have is the safety of the tournament. The success is measured in the safety of the tournament. Let everyone remain healthy. We need to evaluate in India because the pandemic is still here. It’s not gone and the cases are spiking in many places.”

Currently, five venues have been named to host the competition – Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ahmedabad and Navi Mumbai. Two cities are likely to be dropped from the list, it is learnt.

India was originally scheduled to host the U-17 World Cup in 2020. However, that edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the country was given the right to host the competition in 2022. The 16-team event is scheduled to be held from October 11 to 30 this year.

“We need to decide together with the authorities. It’s not a FIFA decision and it’s based on the status of the pandemic and the measures implemented by the government and the State to fight against the pandemic,” Yarza said.

The organising committee is yet to decide whether the tournament would be open for the public.