In just 50 days India will stage the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup across six host cities across the country with 24 teams from across six confederations divided into six groups getting all set to fight for arguably the biggest prize youth football has to offer.
PROMISING TIMES FOR INDIA U17 TEAM
The first stage or the league phase of the competition begins on October 6 which will be followed by the second stage that will be played in a knock-out format from October 16 till the final at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on October 28.
The qualified teams for the final competition after the FIFA Executive Committee had determined the maximum number of teams come from Africa (CAF), Asia (AFC), Europe (UEFA), North, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), Oceania (OFC) and South America (CONMEBOL).
THE LAST DATES FOR THE TEAMS
Aniket Mishra
| CAF (4) | AFC (5) | UEFA (5) | CONCACAF (4) | OFC (2) | CONMEBOL (4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | India | England | Costa Rica | New Caledonia | Brazil |
| Guinea | Iran | France | Honduras | New Zealand | Chile |
| Mali | Iraq | Germany | Mexico | Colombia | |
| Niger | Japan | Spain | USA | Paraguay | |
| Korea DPR | Turkey |
Each of the 24 participating member associations are believed to have submitted a provisional list of 35 players, including a minimum of four goalkeepers, to the FIFA general secretariat by August 11.
In addition, any requests for a change to the provisional list only in noteworthy circumstances must be submitted in writing no later than ten days before the final list deadline and are subject to the approval of the FIFA Organising Committee.
As such, the final list of the 21 players with a minimum of three goalkeepers chosen to be fielded in the final competition has to be submitted at least ten business days before the opening match of the final competition, or safe to say by September 21. Here too, the players on the final list cannot be other than those listed on the provisional list.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT U17 TEAM
The current provisional list of the Indian contingent consists of two overseas players, including the squad's newest member Sunny Dhaliwal. The 6 feet 5 inches tall goalkeeper had to surrender his Canadian passport to procure an Indian citizenship. US-based NRI, Namit Deshpande, who plays as a stopper was drafted in earlier this year and had already been a part of the European exposure tour in the summer.
AHEAD OF THE FINAL COMPETITION
AIFF Media
Each team would generally be entitled to play friendly matches until five days prior to its first match of the competition against any representative team or club while the official training sites and stadiums will not be allowed to be used as of 10 days before each team's first scheduled training session or match respectively.
If any participating member association withdraws or is excluded from the competition, the FIFA Organising Committee shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary. The FIFA Organising Committee may, in particular, decide to replace the association in question with another association.
Each team participating in the final competition shall arrive at the venue of their first group match at least four days before the team’s first match.
INDIA TO TRAIN IN BENGALURU FROM AUG 16
Disciplinary incidents are dealt with in compliance with the FIFA Disciplinary Code in force as well as with all relevant circulars and directives, with which the participating member associations undertake to comply.
FIFA may introduce new disciplinary rules and disciplinary measures for the duration of the World Cup. Such rules shall be communicated to the participating member associations one month before the first match of the final competition at the latest.