KNOW THE VENUES
NEW DELHI JLN Stadium
It is not new to hosting mega events. This was the venue for 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. It has also seen its share of top flight football action – hosting the SAFF Championship and the Nehru Cup. Even Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have set foot in this stadium turf for a testimonial for Bhaichung Bhutia. However, the same pitch will not be used for the 2017 U-17 World Cup. The main field of play has been re-laid ahead of the youth tournament. Even the warm-up pitch saw major revamp after Jaime Yarza, FIFA head of tournaments, raised concerns.
MUMBAI Dr. DY Patil Stadium
In March, when the Fifa delegation visited the stadium along with the local organising committee, it had stated that the DY Patil Stadium was the venue most prepared for the U-17 World Cup. The chairs in the stadium have also been upgraded while a solar power plant has been installed and two practice grounds have been renovated. The stadium, which came into being in 2008, had hosted the final between Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
KOLKATA Salt Lake Stadium
Refurbished at over ~100 crore, the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan looks a picture. It took 55 months, 105 meetings between multiple government agencies and inputs from IIT Kharagpur and Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, to get the stadium ready, on September 10. The multi-purpose stadium is now an all-seater venue. The pitch has also been re-laid with natural turf replacing an artificial surface in 2015. For the World Cup, the stadium will seat 66, 687 people. After the World Cup, the capacity will be 80,000.
KOCHI Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium
With a capacity of 41,748, the stadium will host five matches of Brazil, Spain and Germany in the first round. The local organisers have faced criticism for the slow pace of preparations. In September, there has been an issue of shop owners in the stadium complex refusing to temporarily down shutters during the World Cup. The matter is sub-judice but everyone is hopeful that matches would be held in Kochi as per schedule. Home to the Kerala Blasters franchise in the ISL, the stadium hosted the ISL final last year between the home side and Atletico Kolkata.
GUWAHATI Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium
The BJP-led government prefers to call it Sarusajai Stadium after the locality. It was inaugurated in 2007 specifically for the 33rd National Games. The stadium seats about 35,000. But tournament director of the local organising committee Javier Ceppi sought bucket seats and other improvements. Assam sports officials said the bucket seats have reduced the stadium’s seating capacity to 28,500. The stadium has not had a renovation on such a scale before.
MARGAO Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
The stadium is the smallest of the venues that would host the World Cup with a capacity of just 19,000. The stadium is also Goa’s only international stadium and is the current home for clubs such as Salgaocar SC, Sporting Clube de Goa and Dempo and the ISL franchise FC Goa. It was refurbished when it hosted the Lusofonia Games in 2014. When Goa being one of the states that has had an overwhelming contribution to football, the stadium has also hosted qualifiers for the World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup.