Salt Lake Stadium to be 90% ready by next FIFA inspection: Ceppi

The Salt Lake Stadium was unrecognisable both from outside and inside when FIFA U-17 tournament director for the Local organising Committee (LoC) Javier Ceppi and Subrata Dutta came to visit it in Kolkata on Thursday. The front entrance of the colossal amphitheatre which has hosted many riveting football ties in the past – most notably Lionel Messi's first match as Argentina captain against Venezuela in 2011 – was getting ready for a new look and so was the entire premises inside. The conference rooms as well as dressing rooms looked well lit and much more polished in decor from what it was even in November, the last time a FIFA team had come over for an inspection. The pitch looked ready for action, wearing a fresh lush green look bathing in the sun.

"The entire stadium now looks like a modern venue of international standard in the making," said Dutta, who is part of the LoC team apart from his role as All India Football Federation (AIFF) senior vice-president, on the sidelines of the visit. Dutta is also President of the Indian Football Association (IFA), the state body of football overlooking renovation work here.

"Some of the work like painting and other decorative stuff will be left for a later date as they can be done with time," Ceppi said. "But the core infrastructure work should be done before end of March when FIFA comes to visit." Ceppi also lauded the IFA and the state government for their efforts in revamping such a huge area which he said is "never easy as it's humongous." Besides Kolkata, which is likely to host the final, New Delhi, Guwahati, Margao, Kochi and Navi Mumbai are the other six venues. The Salt Lake Stadium, which is getting ready to host the FIFA U-17 World Cup in October, will be almost ready for the youth showpiece by the end of March when the FIFA delegation visits for another round of inspection, tournament Director Javier Ceppi informed on Thursday.

"I am extremely satisfied with the progress of the stadium," Ceppi told reporters, after a recce of the under-construction colossal venue, which after renovation will have a capacity of 87,000 spectators. "We have to realise that the stadium is huge. So works here take time, but the amount of progress that we have seen from three weeks till now has been fantastic," said Ceppi, who touches down in the eastern metropolis almost every month to take stock of the progress.

"Everything is on track. Because of the dimensions of the stadia it would not have been possible to complete work by January 31. Stadium will be completed well in time for the World Cup. By the next FIFA inspection in March, we would see 90-95 per cent completion," Ceppi earmarked.

Aroop Biswas, the state Youth Services and Sports Minister had said that by January 31 the stadium would be ready. When asked about the ticket prices, Ceppi said, "The prices will be lesser than a movie ticket. I can say that one would be able to watch a World Cup match for less than Rs 100." Ceppi vouched that the turf does not need international friendly matches before the World Cup to test the turf as other areas are much more of a concern than the playing surface.

"You can do training on the turf and that's how you test it. The testing of the venue has much less to do with the ground and more about say how the media tribune works, how the flow of people work," he said. Javier Ceppi also rubbished reports that FIFA U-17 World Cup matches scheduled in Delhi would be relocated but the post Diwali pollution is a factor when it comes to hosting marquee matches.

With Diwali this year being on October 19, the air quality is a big concern for FIFA local organising committee after smog led to cancellation of two national championship cricket matches last year.

"It's nothing to do with Delhi hosting matches. Let me be very clear and straightforward, Delhi will host matches.There's no question of Delhi not hosting matches," said Ceppi told dismissing news reports by a certain section.

"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, is being analysed. We will see what measures that can be taken for the air pollution post-Diwali so that it would have a lesser impact on the tournament," Ceppi said during his inspection. The 24-team tournament will have 52 matches at six venues – New Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Margao, Kochi, Guwahati and Kolkata which has emerged as the favourite to host the summit clash boasting India's largest 87,000 capacity.

The Salt Lake Stadium is going through a sea-change as the venue which had an old out-dated look now looks sparkling with renovation in full swing, something that has impressed Ceppi.

"The change is astonishing. You all have covered matches at the venue, are you all not surprised? All kudos to the state government and the IFA (the West Bengal football association) who's pushing quite a lot to get things done. It's their responsibility and they have delivered. The change is fantastic that does not happen in other venues." He however remained tightlipped on whether it would host the final.

"You people keep on asking me this... The last inspection in March will determine the match schedule. Each venue will get matches. There will be plenty of promotional activities. There are seven qualifying teams. We will know 24 teams by May 28. The draw will be on July 7." On the promotional front, Ceppi said, "Once we know the teams, we would be much more proficient about promotions and see whether there are any interesting teams coming to Kolkata to drive a particular promotion. We will work with the state government. Nobody wants to see an empty stadium, it not only affects the city poorly but also the tournament. We will find a way to bring people to the stadium," Ceppi added.

The tournament will be held across six cities from October 6–28. There have been questions about Delhi's pollution putting a spanner to the works during the World Cup as it will start in October, the time of the year smog can play a part.

As many as 24 teams, including hosts India, will take part in the tournament which will have 52 matches and played before an expected global audience of over 200 million in 200 countries. The U-17 World Cup is the sport's third most important tournament globally and the most high-profile football event the. agencies