(REUTERS) – FIFA continued its policy of taking tournaments to developing soccer frontiers when it awarded the 2017 Under-17 World Cup to India yesterday.

It will be the biggest soccer tournament staged in India, who won the nomination by beating bids from 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa and Uzbekistan.
FIFA also awarded the Under-20 World Cup in 2017 to South Korea while the women’s Under-17 World Cup in 2016 was given to Jordan and the Under-20 women’s World Cup will be played in South Africa.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter told reporters: “This is of enormous importance for a land of 1.2 billion people in sporting political and geo-political terms.”
India have never taken part in the World Cup finals and although soccer matches there attract sizeable crowds, cricket is the country’s national sport.

(By Mike Collett)