FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde launches host city logo of Maharashtra

Bengaluru, Sept. 21: The FIFA under-17 Women's World Cup is just weeks away and on Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde launched the official Host City Logo of the state. Also present during the launch were Girish Mahajan, Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare and LOC Project Director Nandini Arora amongst other respected dignitaries

The under-17 women's world cup is set to be held in India from October 11th to 30th. The mega event, which will be held across Odisha, Goa and Maharashtra, will be the first FIFA women's competition to be held in India.

The state's DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai will host the third-place and the Final match of the biennial youth competition.

Speaking about the upcoming women's world cup during the launch event, CM Shinde said, "I am really excited to launch official the Host City Logo of Navi Mumbai for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022. It will be fantastic to watch the matches at the DY Patil Stadium. The prestigious tournament will see the best players from 16 countries and this is an important tournament. I would like to wish the best of luck to the participating teams, players and staff."

Maharashtra has been home to multiple big-ticket events over the years including the first-ever FIFA competition hosted by India, the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017. Thus, alongside Goa, Maharashtra is set to become one among only two states in India to host two FIFA tournaments. DY Patil Stadium also hosted the AFC Women's Asian Cup earlier this year.

Meanwhile, talking about the state hosting another major sporting event, Mahajan said, "Maharashtra has always rolled out the red carpet for major sporting events and the state is readying itself once again to host an international tournament. October 2022 promises to be an exciting month as youth players from the best 16 nations will be visiting India in a bid to be crowned champions.

"Navi Mumbai has some really exciting games, including two quarterfinal matches and, of course, the final. This is a great opportunity for football fans to come witness a historic moment as a FIFA winners' trophy will be lifted for the first time on Maharashtra's soil," said Mahajan.

Project Director of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the tournament Nandini Arora encouraged people to visit the DY Patil Stadium to watch the games live.