Fifa Under-17 World Cup tournament director Javier Ceppi dismissed reports of matches in Delhi being relocated because of the city’s pollution. According to a report in The Indian Express, Delhi was supposedly set to miss out on hosting matches of the marquee event later this year owing to the extremely high pollution levels in the city after Diwali.
With the tournament scheduled to be held from October 6-28, the knockout games will be during Diwali, which falls on October 19. Air quality in Delhi is a big concern for the committee, the report said, after smog led to cancellation of two Ranji Trophy cricket matches last year.
“Let me be very clear and straightforward, Delhi will host matches,” Ceppi said. “There’s no question of Delhi not hosting matches. We have not said Delhi would not host marquee matches. We don’t know yet. How the pollution may impact Delhi’s hosting matches post-Diwali, it’s being analysed. We will see what measures [need] to be taken post-Diwali so that it would have a lesser impact on the tournament.”
The 24-team tournament will have 52 matches at six venues— Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Margao, Kochi, Guwahati and Kolkata.