It was a historical moment for Indian sports as FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Thursday announced that India will be hosting the Under-17 Football World Cup in 2017.
The other countries that were in the contention to host the competition were South Africa, Uzbekistan and Republic of Ireland.
As per the bid, eight cities - New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Margao, Kochi, Pune and Guwahati - are in line to be the venues of the tournament.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has been working on the bid for more than a year and officially submitted it last month.
India will take part in the 24-nation mega event for the first time. The date of the tournament will be decided later. United Arab Emirates hosted the tournament this year while Chile will host the event in 2015.
"Yes, India has won the right to host the 2017 Under-17 World Cup Football. It's official now," All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das told PTI.
Earlier, in a visit to India, Blatter and then his secretary Jerome Valcke, have supported India hosting the event, provided they build the required infrastructure and facilities.
"While the expenditure for upgradation of stadia (Rs 95 crore) will be provided as additional central assistance to the State Governments, a sum of Rs 25 crore is kept as a contingency to ensure smooth conduct of the tournament," the Sports Ministry had said.
"AIFF and FIFA have agreed to bear the entire expenditure of hosting the tournament. The amounts required are to be raised through sponsorships and other commercial agreements," it had said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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