Over 120,000 school kids to watch FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: FIFA

FIFA has said that over one lakh children will be watching the ongoing Under-17 Women's World Cup in India. The FIFA tournament is being played in Bhubaneswar, Margao and Navi Mumbai.

The FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup kicked-off on October 11 and will end on October 30. Nandini Arora, who is one of the Project Directors of the tournament, said the tournament will see close to 1,20,000 kids attend the matches.

"We must thank the local municipal bodies in each of the host cities, the police and the teachers accompanying these children for helping us pull off this wonderful initiative, that in total will see close to 120,000 kids get to watch a match from a stadium," said Arora.

FIFA, in a statement, said thousands of children have enjoyed some world-class footballing action and many more will get a chance in the coming days.

"The presence of a special set of fans seen consistently



cheering from the stands - young boys and girls - has been facilitated by a special community engagement initiative undertaken jointly by the tournament's Local Organising Committee and FIFA. Thousands of young children across the three venues have enjoyed some world-class footballing action, and many more will get a chance to do the same in the coming days," said FIFA.

FIFA Director of Tournaments Jaime Yarza insisted the shots of the kids dancing and celebrating were the pictures of the day for him.

He added that it was a real pleasure for him to see India host another FIFA World Cup.

"It was a hard time for a lot of people, especially for those who were here for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017. Having experienced the passion that we did back then, it was hard to be unsure if it (the 2022 tournament) could happen in India. So, now seeing the games being played, it's a real pleasure for all of us," Yarza added.