Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be invited to attend the ceremony.
Opening ceremonies at FIFA events is a rare occurance but Sports Minister Vijay Goel said that they will like to have one for the U-17 FIFA World Cup in New Delhi and he will also ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the ceremony.
“We know that they (FIFA) don’t do this but we will try to have Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the opening ceremony,” Goel said. “I have inspected all venues and all are ready. PM had a role in it and he wants promotion of football in the country like cricket.”
The U-17 World Cup trophy was put on display in Delhi and the Sports Minister said that he will urge state governments to distribute footballs to the kids and promote the World Cup.
“We will distribute 1000 footballs to (hosting) states to be given to kids and would love to see the states gift more to the kids,” Goel said.
The event will begin on October 6 and he said that the number of tickets sold will be go up as the tournament comes close.
“The popularity of football in other five states is more than Delhi. But I am sure you will see packed house when India will play,” he said.
