Kalinga Stadium has been a name quite familiar with global sporting events. For the upcoming 2020 Women’s U-17 World Cup, Kalinga Stadium has been provisionally approved to play hosts. A team of FIFA officials evaluated the progress and preparations for this global event on Friday. The delegation also consisted of members from the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the 2020 U-17 Women’s World Cup.
“We’re very happy to be here because we know Bhubaneswar is a city which is very passionate about sports. You have hosted the Hockey World Cup and now it’s time to shift to football. If Bhubaneswar is selected as a host city, we’re very confident that the U-17 Women’s World Cup will be a huge success”, said Oliver Vogt, FIFA’s Project Lead of the tournament.
“Even though more work needs to be done with overall infrastructure, we are confident in Bhubaneswar’s ability to deliver this. What is even more heartening is the plans towards women’s football development that are taking shape”, remarked Roma Khanna, Tournament Director of the LOC. “We are extremely pleased and very appreciative of the state government for putting weight behind this initiative. This is a key component for this tournament, and we want to encourage more support to be given for the overall development of women’s football”, she added.
Bhubaneswar is the third venue that was evaluated after Kolkata and Guwahati. The team of delegates will now move to Allahabad for further assessment of facilities there. The World Cup is scheduled from November 2 to 21 next year.