Aaditya Thackeray: Maharashtra will make U-17 Women's WC memorable

The Tourism Minister of the state, along with the Sports Minister and the LOC discussed the preparations for the tournament.

The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup is just a few months away and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) held a meeting with Maharashtra Sports Minister Sunil Kedar and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray, along with officials of the Western India Football Association (WIFA) and DY Patil Stadium. The venue in Navi Mumbai will host four games during the tournament, including the final on 7th March next year.

In a statement, the Sports Minister Sunil Kedar said, “I am happy to know of the progress that has been made in the last year. It is a great honour for Maharashtra to host this tournament.”  

“The sports department and Maharashtra government assure full cooperation and support to make the tournament, along with the final, a great success. This meeting further helped in understanding the requirements of the World Cup.”

Aaditya Thackeray, on behalf of the Maharashtra government promised that all efforts will be made to make the World Cup a memorable one.

“We are proud to be hosting the U-17 Women’s World Cup, along with the final. The past few months have been tough, fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, but we know the situation will improve,” Aaditya Thackeray quoted, as reported by PTI.

“In the coming months, we will launch programmes to promote the growth of women’s sport and increase participation of girls in football. Maharashtra will work tirelessly to ensure that the first women’s football World Cup in the country is memorable for teams and fans alike,” he added.

Further, the Tournament Director of LOC, Roma Khanna, said, “Besides assessing the preparations, it was important to discuss other aspects of the tournament, including developing women's football overall and increasing participation in the state."

She went on to add, "We're very happy to have stakeholders like Maharashtra, who have the potential and more importantly the commitment and vision to ensure that there is a lasting impact when it comes to women's sport and women's football in particular.”

The tournament was supposed to be held later this year, but was postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Along with Mumbai, matches will be hosted in Guwahati, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad from 17th February 2021.