U-17 World Cup to reach Kochi on Sept. 22
September 15, 2017
The FIFA under-17 World Cup will make a three-day trip to the State, reaching Kochi — lone venue of the prestigious tournament, in Kerala — on September 22.
Announcing the details of the local preparations spearheaded by the State Government, the Sports Minister, A.C. Moideen, told a press conference here on Thursday that the Cup will be accorded an official reception soon after its arrival.
FIFA has its own protocol for such events but will be taking up the Cup to schools across the host city on September 23 before giving a farewell marked with a colourful cultural display at the Vasco da Gama square in Fort Kochi on September 24.
He said preparations were in full swing and the local organising committee would be in a position to handover the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the four training grounds well before the FIFA deadline of September 22.
The State Government has spend around Rs. 47.33 crore inclusive of the Rs. 12. 44 crore received from the Union Government for undertaking works connected with the organisation of the World Cup.
Million Goal project
Moideen said that the response for the Million Goal project — slated to be held across the State between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on September 27 — was quite encouraging. Discussions with the General Education Dept. has resulted in an additional 7,000 venues (schools) and the final tally of goals scored by the people in the State could be well over the targeted million goals.
I.M. Vijayan and C.K. Vineeth will lead the torch relay starting in Kasaragod on October 3, while Jiju Jacob, M. Rajeev Kumar and V.P. Shaji will be at the helm of the ball relay commencing at Kaliyikkavilla on the same day. The two relays will converge in Kochi on October 6.
Further, a series of celebrity matches — featuring the Chief Minister’s XI vs the Speaker’s XI, Civil Services A vs Civil Services B and the Media A vs Media B team — will also be part of the countdown.
