West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the state is looking forward to hosting the FIFA U-17 football World Cup final in two months' time, adding the magnitude of the event in itself is a huge gain for the city.
The colossal Salt Lake Stadium will witness the first-ever FIFA World Cup summit clash held in India on October 28, for which tickets during the third phase of sales, have already been sold out.
"The U-17 World Cup final will be in Kolkata and it's a matter of great pride," Mamata said during her speech at the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) annual awards here.
"There will be 7-8 matches. Kolkata will get to see future stars of the world. Also stars of yesteryear like Maradona will grace the city. This is a huge gain for Kolkata.
Without sport, life is incomplete," she added.
Kolkata will host five Group F matches and one Group E game involving Japan and New Caledonia. In Group F, the teams are Chile, England, Mexico and Iraq.
The Salt Lake Stadium will also host one pre-quarterfinal, a quarter-final, third place game and the final.
--IANS
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