NEW DELHI: India will bid to host the FIFA Club World Cup in 2015 as well as staging the World Under-17 Youth Championship in 2017, according to  Praful Patel, president of the All India Football Federation.

Patel made that ambitious announcement during a visit to India by FIFA president Sepp Blatter. The world federation had decided last January, in principle, to award the Under-17 event to India and a decision on both tournament will be taken later this month by the FIFA executive committee in Zurich.

Blatter, on only his second visit to India, said that staging the U-17 World Cup would be a step in the right direction. He added: “The U-17 World Cup fits India’s scheme of things. It will be a step in the right direction in terms of grass roots development. There is a good possibility. But I am not the only one in FIFA who decides.

“The decision has to be taken by the executive committee of the FIFA. But India have to start working now with the under-12 teams.”

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