2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup

2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup

Official Emblem for the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017
Tournament details
Host country	India
Dates	6–28 October 2017
Teams	24 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)	6 (in 6 host cities)

The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be the 17th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under 17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be hosted by India between 6 and 28 October 2017.^[1][2] This will be the first time India will host an international football competition.

Should the competition be considered a success, the All India Football Federation has hinted at a FIFA World Cup bid.^[3]

Nigeria, the 2015 champions, will not be able to defend their title as they failed to reach the final round of the CAF qualifying tournament. In doing so, they became the first incumbent title holder since Switzerland in 2009 to fail to qualify for the subsequent tournament.

Host selection

Bids had to be submitted by 15 November 2013. The following four countries had submitted bids to host the tournament:^[4][5]

•  Azerbaijan
•  India
•  Ireland
•  Uzbekistan

FIFA revealed on 5 December 2013 (as part of their Executive Committee meeting in Salvador, Brazil) that India would be the host.^[6][7]

Qualified teams

A total of 24 teams qualify for the final tournament. In addition to India who qualified automatically as hosts, the other 23 teams qualify from six separate continental competitions. Starting from 2017, the Oceania Football Confederation will receive an additional slot (in total two), while UEFA will have five instead of six slots.^[8]

Confederation	Qualifying tournament	Qualifier(s)
AFC (Asia)	Host nation	India1
	2016 AFC U-16 Championship	Iran  Iraq  Japan  North Korea
CAF (Africa)	2017 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations	TBD TBD TBD TBD
CONCACAF (Central, North America and Caribbean)	2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship	TBD TBD TBD TBD
CONMEBOL (South America)	2017 South American Under-17 Championship	TBD TBD TBD TBD
OFC (Oceania)	2017 OFC U-17 Championship	TBD TBD
UEFA (Europe)	2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship	TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD

1.^ Teams that will make their debut.

Venues

The initial short-list of 10 venues in the host cities of New Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Margao, Bangalore, Kolkata, Kochi, Guwahati, and Navi Mumbai^[9] was announced in December 2013. Following the reception of FIFA's technical report, Kochi, Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Guwahati, Margao and Kolkata were provisionally selected as venues for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in May 2015.^[10][11] The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi was the first venue to be provisionally selected.Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium was the second stadium to be selected on 20th October 2016.^[12] The FIFA delegation visited India between 19–25 October 2016 to evaluate the progress made towards the preparation in each of the six stadiums. After a thorough inspection, the 13-member FIFA team, along with 10 members of the Local Organising committee, ratified Kochi, Goa, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Guwahati, and Kolkata as venues for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, 2017.

In addition to the selected venues, there is also a Plan B. FIFA has listed Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram among others, as alternate venues.^[13]

Kolkata	Kochi	New Delhi
Salt Lake Stadium (Upgraded)	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Capacity: 85,000[14][15]	Capacity: 60,500	Capacity: 60,000
Navi Mumbai New Delhi Kolkata Kochi Margao Guwahati 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup (India)
Navi Mumbai	Guwahati	Margao
DY Patil Stadium	Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium	Fatorda Stadium
Capacity: 55,000	Capacity: 30,000	Capacity: 19,000

Official Emblem Launch

Launched during the AFC U-16 Championship, which also serves as the first set of qualifiers for next year’s tournament, the emblem of the first-ever FIFA tournament in India was designed as a celebration of the country’s richness and diversity of cultures, with the main elements of the Indian Ocean, the banyan tree, the kite and the starburst – an integral part of the national identity.

Each of these elements has been selected for its deep significance in the culture of the country. The Indian Ocean that serves as the base of the emblem is an integral part of the subcontinent. The banyan tree is the national tree of India, deeply rooted in the culture and ethos of the country and under which rural communities traditionally gather to take all major decisions in its shade.

The kite is the symbol of freedom and fun. Popular across the country, it represents the soaring aspirations of India’s young and vibrant democracy. Finally, the starburst that sits on the top of the emblem evokes festivity and celebration, representing all the festivals that grace this multicultural country and making a statement that the FIFA U-17 World Cup will be a new festival for all calendars.

Shaped like the FIFA U-17 World Cup trophy, the emblem combines the global look of the beautiful game with a quintessentially Indian feel. It represents what the tournament stands for.^[16]

Present at the event were FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Praful Patel, Chairman of the LOC and of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), AFC President Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel.

References

External links

• FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA.com

International association football
FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Cup U-17 U-20 Confederations Cup Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings Player of the Year Ballon d'Or Timeline of association football
Asia	AFC – Asian Cup U-23 U-19 U-16 U-14 Regional (ASEAN, EAFF, SAFF, WAFF)
Africa	CAF – Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 Regional (CECAFA, CEMAC, COSAFA, WAFU)
North America, Central America and the Caribbean	CONCACAF – Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15
South America	CONMEBOL – Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15
Oceania	OFC – Nations Cup U-20 U-17
Europe	UEFA – European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17
Non-FIFA	NF-Board – Viva World Cup CONIFA - ConIFA World Football Cup ConIFA European Football Cup IGA - Island Games
Games	African Games Asian Games Central America Central America and Caribbean East Asian Games Francophonie Games Indian Ocean Island Lusophony Games Mediterranean Games Pan American Games Pan Arab Games Pacific Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games
See also Geography Debuts Codes Player of the Century Women's football