The All India Football Federation’s President Mr. Praful Patel dubbed the first ever FIFA World Cup to be hosted by India, the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 India, as a “defining moment for Indian Football”
 

Talking exclusively to Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Qatar the AIFF President said, ““The Under-17 World Cup of next year will be the defining moment of Indian football. We have had intense focus on the Under-16 and Under-17 age-groups and will ensure the national team spends the next few years training and playing together.” 
 

“They will give their best during the Under-17 World Cup next year and following the tournament we will bid for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup,” he continued. “We have told the FIFA Competitions Committee that we are keen to host the event at the earliest available opportunity in 2019, and this will further give a boost to our grassroots initiatives”
 

“Winning the Under-17 World Cup hosting rights has sparked the interest of the Indian government in the development of the sport.” 
 

“There is still some way forward for Indian football to complete the three-way jigsaw which will take it to its desired goal – player development, infrastructure growth and incremental investment”, Mr. Patel further added. 
 

Read the exclusive full interview on: http://www.sc.qa/en/news/aiff-president-patel-india-targeting-2022-fifa-world-cup-qatar-qualification