Puyol hands over the first ticket to kin of Bagan great
FC Barcelona and Spain legend Carles Puyol handed over the first ticket of the upcoming U-17 FIFA World Cup in India, to Gouri Bhaduri, the senior-most surviving relative of Mohun Bagan’s 1911 IFA Shieldwinning captain Shibdas Bhaduri, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday.
The event will be held from October 6-28.
The ceremonial kick-off of the ticket programme took place in the presence of union sports minister Vijay Goel, BJP MP Babul Supriyo, who is also the vice-president of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), and Javier Ceppi, Tournament Director of the LOC.
Speaking at the event, Puyol said, “I am extremely happy to be here. It’s my first time; it’s a great occasion to be here. I also hope to be here in October when the World Cup happens.”
The former Barcelona centreback then proceeded to officiate a game between two groups of children, with Goel and Supriyo leading the opposing teams.
Vijay Goel, meanwhile, called upon Indian football fans to come out in large numbers for the main event in October.
“The quality of the teams who have qualified for the tournament is amazing. Brazil will be leading the South American challenge with players like Vinicius Junior, who is attracting interest from Real Madrid and other popular clubs from around the world,” he said. The union minister also expressed satisfaction over the pace of preparations for the U-17 World Cup.