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 U17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be hosted by India between 6th and 28 October 2017. This will be the first FIFA tournament hosted by the country. The final will be held at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 28 October 2017.
Should the competition be considered a success, the All India Football Federation has hinted at a FIFA U-20 World Cup & FIFA Club World Cup bid.
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.
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Hosts selection
Bids had to be submitted by 15 November 2013. The following four countries had submitted bids to host the tournament:
- 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 hosts.
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Qualified teams
A total of 24 teams qualified for the final tournament. In addition to India who qualified automatically as the hosts, the other 23 teams qualified from six separate continental competitions. Starting from 2017, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) will receive an additional spot (in total two spots), while UEFA will have five instead of six spots.
Venues
The initial short-list of 10 venues in the host cities of New Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Margao, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Kochi, Guwahati, and Navi Mumbai 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. 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 20 October 2016. 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.
Organization
The following were key milestones in the organization of the tournament:
- The official emblem was launched on 27 September 2016.
- On 19 December 2016, the Bank of Baroda became the first Indian company to sign up as a national supporter for the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017. Hero MotoCorp also signed up on 16 March 2017.
- The mascot, a clouded leopard named Kheleo, was unveiled on 10 February 2017.
- The volunteer programme was launched on 6 March 2017.
- The match schedule and official slogan ("Football Takes Over") were unveiled on 27 March 2017. The schedule was amended following a request from the All India Football Federation.
Emblem
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.
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.
Tickets
The tickets for the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 started its sale on 16 May 2017, with a visit of legendary Spanish football player Carles Puyol. The tickets for the Tournament are to be sold in four distinct phases. The first one from May 16 to July 7, in which only Venue Packs were to be sold with a 60% discount. The second one from July 7 to July 21 which is an exclusive phase for Visa cardholders with 50% discount. The third one from July 21 to October 5, in which fans could buy individual match tickets with 25% discount from face value and the last one from October 6 to October 28 at full price. The sales of tickets has been done exclusively online in the website http://tickets.india2017wc.com/.
Draw
The draw was held on 7 July 2017, 19:00 IST (UTC+5:30), at the Hotel Sahara Star in Mumbai, India. Two players who have won the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Nwankwo Kanu and Esteban Cambiasso, participated in the draw.
The 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four teams, with hosts India being allocated to position A1. The teams were seeded into their respective pots based on their results in the last five FIFA U-17 World Cups (more recent tournaments weighted more heavily), with bonus points awarded to confederation champions. Teams from the same confederation could not be drawn against each other for the group stage.
Match officials
A total of 21 refereeing trios (a referee and two assistant referees) and 7 women support referees were appointed for the tournament. Video assistant referees will not be used in the tournament.
Squads
Each team must first name a preliminary squad of 35 players. From the preliminary squad, the team must name a final squad of 23 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by the FIFA deadline. Players in the final squad may be replaced due to serious injury up to 24 hours prior to kickoff of the team's first match.
Group stage
The top two teams of each group and the four best third-placed teams advance to the round of 16. The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows (regulations Article 17.7):
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:
All times are local, IST (UTC+5:30).
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Ranking of third-placed teams
The four best teams among those ranked third are determined as follows (regulations Article 17.7):
The specific match-ups involving the third-placed teams depend on which four third-placed teams qualified for the round of 16:
Knockout stage
In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, no extra time shall be played and the winner shall be determined by a penalty shoot-out.
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Third place match
Final
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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