Colombia first team to arrive for FIFA U-17 World Cup
New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) Colombia on Thursday became the first team to arrive for the FIFA U-17 World Cup that is scheduled to start from October 6.
The South American nation is placed in Group A and will play two of their group matches here and one match in Navi Mumbai.
Colombia coach Orlando Restrepo said: “We’re delighted to be here. The boys and the staff are all looking forward to a competitive tournament where we will put our best foot forward.”
Colombia will make their sixth FIFA U-17 World Cup appearance, though they have not played the last three editions of the tournament with Nigeria 2009 being the last FIFA U-17 World Cup they took part in. The team secured their World Cup berth by finishing third in the South American U-17 Championship that was held earlier this year.
Speaking about the first team’s arrival, Tournament Director Javier Ceppi said: “It is very exciting to have Colombia as the first team coming into the country. With their arrival, the Tournament now enters into the last stage, with the National Teams starting their preparations actually on-ground to get used to the conditions in India. We encourage all fans to welcome all the teams that will start arriving from now onwards and to show the hospitality of this wonderful country”.
Besides Colombia and hosts India, the 22 remaining teams will be landing in India over the course of the next two weeks.