India has been appointed as the host country to hold the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. It is a prestige for India to host the event as it will be the first appearance for the country in U-17 Women's World Cup. The biggest sporting event for women has undoubtedly been postponed from November 2020 to February-March 2021. Players born between January 2003 and December 2005 are eligible to participate and compete in the tournament.
Footballers from Jharkhand who have been selected for the Indian FIFA U-17 World Cup team have been shortlisted by the AIFF (All India Football Federation). On the directions of Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand State Sports Promotion Society has been instructed to make arrangements for lodging and training of the players. Prior to the pandemic, they had been training in Goa until they were forced to return back to their homes. As most of them come from families of humble background, several have been largely affected during the lockdown, due to which they could not get a proper diet or do rigorous training to prepare for the World Cup.
In the wake of the U-17 World Cup, the AIFF has decided to support every player of the Women's national team camp with a monthly dietary allowance of Rs. 10,000 for two months - June and July. Due to the acute financial crises faced by the players, the general secretary of the AIFF, Kushal Das said, "We hope the national camp will start in August. Once the girls are in the camp they will get good food, in case the camp doesn’t start in August, we will continue to give financial support.” Moirangthem Ratankumar Singh, president of the All Manipur Football Association, said the lockdown has made it very difficult to stay in touch with players who don’t live in towns. He also plans to provide them one football each so they can juggle with the ball at home. Since it is young teenage girls participating, the AIFF should definitely be focusing on their diets. Goa will be their venue for training when the camp resumes as it provides good facilities.
Five venues have been decided for the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar being the first venue, followed by VYBK Stadium in Kolkata, Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, EKA Arena in Ahmedabad and lastly, DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The group stage matches will be hosted by Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, and Kolkata, while the knockout matches will be played in all four cities except Guwahati. The opening match is scheduled to be held at Guwahati and the final in Navi Mumbai. The emblem for the World Cup has already been decided and it was unveiled on 2 November 2019 at the Gateway of India, Mumbai to mark one year to go and the slogan being "Kick Off The Dream".
Hence, the slogan expresses a certain hope to kickstart the growth of women's football in India and for everyone to realize this dream. FIFA Chief of Women's football, Sarai Bareman feels that hosting this event will help uplift India. In a recent webinar, Bareman told the TOI that FIFA was confident of the country hosting a successful U-17 World Cup for women. "I think we shouldn't just look at the negative impact of the delay in hosting the event. I believe that the World Cup when it happens will be an uplifting way for the country to get back to normalcy. It can be the beacon of hope that everyone is looking for."
India international and Bengaluru FC forward Sunil Chhetri believes that the players will face massive exposure to the competition around the world as India has already successfully hosted the U-17 Men's World Cup in 2017. During a live Facebook chat on the Indian Football Team page, India Football Men's Team Captain commented on how playing the World Cup will help the young Indian girls. They will be playing matches against the top teams in the world, "We have to keep getting these tournaments and AIFF are working so hard to get these tournaments." He also adds that he is really looking forward to watching the U-17 World Cup in February 2021.
India will also be hosting the Women's AFC Cup in 2022 and this will bring a lot of exposure to the Women's team in India by playing in a tournament of global reputation. Sunil Chhetri gave some word of advice for the team which will take part in the Asian Cup in 2022, "The advice is that girls start training from now. I know there is time but start preparing from now itself. It’s going to be at a different level. So make sure you keep no stones unturned while preparing. The suggestion is to enjoy on the pitch.”
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