New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced, on Tuesday, the full schedule of the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup with the opening game set to be played at Guwahati's Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium on November 2.
Meanwhile, the final game will be held at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium on November 21. The 16-team competition will be played across five venues, including Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium, Ahmedabad's TransStadia Stadium and Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium. The quarterfinals will be played on November 12 and 13, while the semifinals will be held on November 17.
The 19-day football extravaganza will be India's second FIFA World Cup event after having earlier hosted the FIFA U-17 Men's World Cup in 2017.
The country's football govrning body also announced the official slogan for the tournament, "Kick Off The Dream" which was unveiled through a press conference.
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Sarai Bareman, Chief Women’s Football Officer at FIFA, said: “Today’s announcement of the match schedule, host cities and official slogan for the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020 represents a major moment for the tournament and football fans across India and around the world.
“As we look to build on the incredible success of last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, as well as the legacy left from the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2017, the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in India provides an exciting opportunity, not just for the development of women’s football, but for fans across India and around the world to watch the next superstars of the women’s game.
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup logo “As the official tournament slogan, Kick Off The Dream perfectly captures the aspirational and empowering message for the tournament as we look to grow women’s football and use the tournament as a platform to inspire girls of all ages across India and around the world.”
Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Kiren Rijiju said: “It gives me immense pleasure as I congratulate all the five cities hosting the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2020. As India prepares to host yet another FIFA event, I look forward to the support from the whole country in making this tournament a rousing success. Our Indian women's team will be playing for the first time at a FIFA tournament. It is a proud moment for the nation and we will provide all support to ensure its success”.
Indian U-17 football team Praful Patel, LOC Chairman and FIFA Council Member, added: “The announcement of the match schedule is an important moment on the road to the tournament as we not only know which cities will host what number of matches, but fans too can start saving the dates for the coming November. I am confident that the five Official Host Cities will do a wonderful job hosting the best young footballers in this important tournament.”
