All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel has indicated that India will bid for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2019, and will draw from the experience of hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2017.
"We have told the FIFA Competitions Committee that we are keen to host the event at the earliest available opportunity in 2019, and this will further give a boost to our grassroots initiatives," Patel told the website of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the organization entrusted with laying the foundation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the first senior men's World Cup to be held in the Middle-East.
Patel said the progress made and publicity generated since winning the rights to host the Under-17 World Cup will encourage the continued development of the next generation of footballers. He also pointed to the recent performances of the Under-16 team, which competed well against UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran when hosting the AFC Under-16 Championship earlier this year, as a positive development for a team eager to qualify for the senior World Cup for the first time in six years' time.
""Many of the current Under-16 boys will be a well-knit group and will be ready for national team duty in time for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, which will start around the same time," Patel said about the country's vision to qualify for the World Cup, which incidentally is scheduled to kick off in exactly six years from today. "There is still some way forward for Indian football to complete the three-way jigsaw which will take it to its desired goal -- player development, infrastructure growth and incremental investment."