BREAKING NEWS: INDIA to host 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup!

World football governing body FIFA at its Executive Committee meeting in Costa do Sauípe (Brazil) decided to grant the hosting rights of the 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup to India.

The news of the hosts of the 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup has been pending for months with Government of India guarantees missing or necessary changes to regulations and Indian law, then World football governing body FIFA over the last two years has been rolling out the red carpet for India to join the bandwagon of global football by being named as hosts of the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup with an aim to push for the growth of the beautiful game on the Indian subcontinent. But the AIFF was forced to wait by the Government of India for the necessary guarantees and changes in laws of the country without which FIFA would not grant any country in the world the rights to host any of its FIFA World Cups.

Those changes and additions happened late, but they did happen and the necessary paperwork was handed in to FIFA in Zurich last month before the cut-off date on November 15, 2013. But India wasn't alone as Ireland, South Africa, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan had also bid to host the 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup.

In the end it was a sheer formality though there were some FIFA ExCo members who were sceptical if giving such a FIFA tournament to India would be the right step, but the FIFA top brass was clear that for FIFA to develop and flourish in India, hosting the 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup would be the right step and push for Indian football.

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