India has been announced as playing host to a number of international football tournaments over the next few years. The FIFA U17 World Cup was one of the most recent successfully held tournaments in the country.
The U17 Women’s World Cup in 2022, followed by the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup are set to be held in India in the next couple of years. The Indian FA have now confirmed themselves as official bidders to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in the country.
Among the competing nations are Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. Should India manage to secure their position as hosts of the international tournament, it will be their first time in history.
AFC President Prafula Patel had this to say regarding the bid placed by the country:
“It has taken a lot of hard work to reach the level we are at today, where we can think of hosting international events year on year. The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India left an indelible mark on our country and we’re now working towards ensuring FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup go down as two of the most successful women’s international football tournaments.”
Holding such high-value tournaments in the country will surely help to promote football in a cricket-dominated country like India. Following the U17 FIFA World Cup, youngsters in India have been more involved in the league.
Moreover, with the country hosting two of the most important women’s football tournaments in the continent and in the world, the women of India will be further encouraged to take up the sport, and society will be much more open to the idea as well and it would go a long way in normalizing a lot of minds to the notion.
