Panaji (Goa): In a bid to attract more spectators for the forthcoming FIFA Under 17 World Cup India 2017, the Goa Government has decided to launch an intensive state-wide campaign from August. The decision came at the backdrop where AFC under 16 Championship held in Goa received poor response despite being football lovers state.

The U-17 World Cup, being football’s third most important tournament globally and the most high-profile football event the country is hosting, will be held across six cities- New Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Margao, Kochi and Navi Mumbai- form October 6 to 28.

The first meeting of steering committee of FIFA U- 17 World Cup India, was held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Dharmendra Sharma, earlier this week.

The meeting took note of the AFC under 16 Championship held in Goa wherein it received poor crowd response.

“It is therefore proposed to formulate a joint action plan by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to attract more spectators to the stadium for the tournament including intensive state-wide campaign from August 2017,” a senior official said.

The meeting deliberated on the role and responsibilities of the line departments in holding the World Cup event.

The meeting also held the discussion on the formulation of Crisis Management Cell to deal with any misinformation

Team TNV