FIFA U-17 World Cup organisers praise Assam authorities
25 Oct 2017 5:31 PM GMT
Kolkata: Blaming the elements for the last minute shifting of the FIFA U-17 World Cup semi-final between Brazil and England from Guwahati to Kolkata, the Local Organising Committee on Wednesday praised the Assam government for its help during the tournament.
LOC tournament director Javier Ceppi commended the authorities in Assam for helping the organisers in trying to get the pitch at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium playable, though the match was ultimately taken to Kolkata, fearing that the poor pitch conditions could lead to injury to the players.
"...nobody can control the weather and the effects these unforeseen rains had on the Field of Play made it impossible to ensure the safety of players for the scheduled semifinal match. The State Government gave us all its support to try to get the pitch to a playable condition, deploying workforce, manpower, extra equipment and even a helicopter to try to dry out the ground," Ceppi said in an LOC statement.
"Their efforts on this issue were commendable and we feel everyone in the Northeast should be proud of all the measures that Government of Assam put in place to try to resolve this situation," he added.
Ceppi said the organisers were extremely grateful for all the help and support provided by the authorities of Assam.
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