In what can be termed as a good news for the football buffs of the State, Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar is all set to host India’s matches of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 on October 11, 14 and 17 this year. This has been officially announced by FIFA and Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the biennial youth tournament on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Goa and Navi Mumbai will play home to the semifinal and final matches of India’s first-ever FIFA women’s tournament respectively.
Speaking about the forthcoming landmark moment, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed his excitement.
“Extremely happy and excited to learn that Bhubaneswar will be hosting group matches of India in the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022. The leading sports destination is ready to provide the grandeur the home team needs for this grand tournament,” said Patnaik.
This is a major feather in the cap for Odisha after having previously hosted the Men’s Hockey World Cups at both the senior and junior levels. The State has also earlier hosted major domestic football tournaments like ISL, I-League, Indian Super Cup and the Indian Women’s League.
The schedule further revealed that the 24 group stage games will conclude on October 18 and the matches will be shared among all three host states--Odisha, Goa and Maharashtra. The quarterfinal round of games will be held on October 21 and 22 following which the semis will be held at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 26. Four days later, a third-place match will serve as the precursor to the final at the DY Patil Stadium which will kick off at 8 pm.