Mamata thanks FIFA, AIFF for the football mega event

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday thanked the FIFA and AIFF for giving the state the chance to host the U-17 World Cup Final match.

"Today is a historic day for Bengal as well as India. For the first time, the U-17 World Cup football final has been hosted at Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan this evening. My sincere thanks to FIFA and AIFF for giving us the opportunity to host the final match," Banerjee said in a Facebook post.

"I was present at the prize giving ceremony. My heartiest greetings and best wishes to the wining and participating teams. It is indeed an overwhelmingly proud moment for Bengal and India," she added.

Banerjee was present in the stadium during the final match and she handed over the Fair Play Trophy to Vitao, captain of Brazil, during the prize giving ceremony at the stadium on Saturday. It may be mentioned that the Mamata Banerjee government had left no stone unturned to create an infrastructure of international level for the Under-17 World Cup that took place for the first time in the country with the final, a semi-final and a quarter-final taking place in Kolkata.

The state government has invested more than Rs 200 crore for the renovation of Salt Lake Stadium. After seeing the renovated stadium, FIFA president Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino appreciated the role of the state government in making the preparations and stated that the stadium is a world-class one. With the availability of such kind of infrastructure, the FIFA authorities had chosen Kolkata when they had to shift a semi-final from Guwahati.

Banerjee had constantly monitored the work that was carried out for the World Cup to ensure timely completion of the project. At the same time, the state government distributed around 1.25 lakh Joyee footballs to popularise the mega event and she composed a song on it as well.