The Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi was on Thursday declared fit for hosting the prestigious FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
Tournament director of the Local Organising Committee, Javier Ceppi made the announcement at a press conference in Kochi after inspecting the works being carried out in the stadium and the training sites.
"At this point of time, we are happy to say that Kochi is a World Cup venue. There would be eight matches to be played in Kochi," he said.
"The core infrastructure has been completed and only those which are meant to be completed closer to the tournament are left," he added.
The stadium, which boasts of a capacity of 60,000 people, will, however, accommodate a maximum of 41,748 persons for the tournament considering the safety and security of spectators.
"The stadium is fit for accommodating 41,748 people. Not a single person more," Ceppi said, adding that the decision to cut down the number of people to be accommodated was made after an assessment by the experts regarding evacuation measures in case of an emergency.
"In all stadiums across the six host cities, the capacity has been reduced considering the safety and security of players and
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