K.M.I. Mather. File photo: ManoramaKochi: The Kerala Football Association (KFA) has worked like a well-oiled machinery to help Kochi become the first Indian city to be officially declared as one of the venues for hosting the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, said KFA president K.M.I. Mather.
The association have been working hard to push Kochi’s case ever since the world football governing body entrusted with India the right to host the mega event, he said.
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Mather, who is also the vice-president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), said the KFA did intensive follow-up to boost Kochi’s chances of hosting the international event.
“From the very beginning, the KFA was determined to bring the U-17 World Cup to Kerala as we were confident that it would go a long way in developing the game at grassroots levels. Apart from technical support, FIFA will offer help for infrastructure development to places that get selected to host the tournament.
“We could convince the previous UDF government as well as the current LDF government of the importance of playing host to a tournament of this magnitude, and they offered all the support to the association in taking up the challenge. After assessing the preparations, former chief minister Oommen Chandy took the initiative to appoint a special officer to coordinate the activities of various government departments.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also been also extremely supportive,” he said and praised the services rendered by nodal officer Mohammed Hanish.
The KFA could highlight the rich football culture of Kerala and the game’s popularity in the State when different FIFA delegations visited to inspect the preparations, he added.
