India Hosting the U17 World Cup? What is the Big Deal?

The Under 17 World Cup for Football – a competition with 24 teams comprising of footballers under the age 17 play for the trophy. It happens every two years.
Finland, Trinidad and Tobago, UAE and Canada are a few countries that have hosted this tournament in the past. India has got a chance to host this tournament in 2017.
I ask, what is the big deal?
India as a footballing nation is ranked consistently below the top 100 in world football and in the bottom rung of Asian football. So, the senior football team is pretty much in the ruins.
What about the 14 year old kids though? The ones who would be playing in the World Cup in 2017 and the ones who will take heart from the fact that they can play football at the world stage. Does this World Cup help them believe that Football is an alternative to Engineering, Medical and Cricket? I do not think so.
Let me tell you why. Nigeria has won the U17 world cup maximum number of times followed by Brazil. Among all things that are different between these two countries – there is something similar, the Football culture.
The kids in these countries play football on the streets of Rio and Abuja (Nigerian Capital). The kids in India play Cricket on the streets. Will India hosting the U17 World Cup change that? I believe not.
Recently,  I had a chance to play against the tribal footballers of Jharkhand, a state in Eastern India. Most of them in their late teens, I was surprised by the raw power, stamina and skills they possessed. They played barefoot and had day jobs to keep the house going. Will the U17 World Cup ensure that these kids actually get to showcase their talent at the World Stage? Absolutely not.
Does hosting the U17 World Cup pave way for India to host the big daddy world cup? There is a huge difference between the two tournaments in terms of infrastructure required to host them. Countries like Finland, UAE and Canada have hosted the U17 World Cup but have never had a chance to host the bigger version. With the lobbying evident at FIFA for hosting rights of the World Cup from the past and present greats of Football, India does not stand a chance. So we should not think on the lines of the U17 World Cup being the stepping stone for hosting the FIFA World Cup.
Manchester United, Liverpool amongst other top European clubs have opened ‘schools’ in India. There is no doubt that there is a huge untapped market for Football in India. The clubs in Europe are taking note and so is FIFA. India is nothing but a cash cow for them.
You can go back to South Africa or Germany in the FIFA World Cup to see what local support can do the performance of the host nations. Considering the U17 stage of football does not have stars you would watch on evenings on weekends, whether India will be able to generate huge support for Under 17 football is a question mark.
The infrastructure for football in India is way below world standards. Less of time and a lot of money will be pumped in to create this infrastructure. Whether India will be able to build world class infrastructure or repeat the Commonwealth games fiasco remains to be seen.
There are a handful of football lovers in India, like the one writing this blog. But whether this handful and a certain U17 World Cup in 2017 will bring about a footballing revolution in India is a big question mark.