AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: In a stellar year for Indian football wherein India hosted its first FIFA World Cup, the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 India, stadium attendance touched an all new high, etching India’s name in history.

The transition from the ‘sleeping giant’ to the ‘passionate giant’ was all too visible in the FIFA U-17 World Cup where fans flocked to the stadium from every part of the nation. Let alone matches of the Indian U-17 World Cup Team, matches of Brazil and other teams also witnessed a jam packed stadium.

The attendance for the matches of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 breached the one million mark in the final match of the round of 16. The FIFA Under-17 World Cup in India set the record for maximum attendance at any Fifa age-group meet for boys. With 66,684 people attending the final match between England and Spain, the cumulative attendance of this edition of the U-17 World Cup went up to a staggering figure of 13,47,131 which is 1,16,131 more than the previous record of U-17 World Cup which was set in the inaugural edition of the U-17 World Cup, played in China.

Meanwhile, the previous all-time highest attendance record in all age-group meets was 13,09,929 which was attained at the 2011 U-20 World Cup in Colombia which has also been bettered at the VYBK Stadium in the FIFA U-17 World Cup Final on October 28, 2017.

Mr. Infantino acknowledged that the edition of FIFA U-17 World Cup in India truly ratified the fact that India has become a football country now, rather a football continent because of its geographical magnitude.

"India is not a country but a football country now, rather it can be called a continent. Thank you very much, it's a great pleasure to be back here", Mr. Infantino expressed.