Trophy experience for FIFA u-17 WC to kick off mid-August

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) and FIFA announced on Monday the dates of a unique trophy experience for India's first major footballing event

The trophy experience will cover almost 9,000km over a 40-day period between August 17 and September 26. Fans will be able to see the official winner's trophy of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the six host cities on the following dates:

1. New Delhi: 17-22 August

2. Guwahati: 24-29 August

3. Kolkata: 31 August - 5 September

4. Mumbai: 6-10 September

5. Goa: 14-19 September

6. Kochi: 21-26 September

Describing the event, chairman of the LOC Praful Patel said, "The trophy experience will mark the last phase of our event promotion and it is very important, because it will give the fans around the country the opportunity to get up close to the same official winner's trophy that the captain of the winning team of the FIFA U-17 World Cup will be lifting on October 28 in Kolkata. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance and we hope that people can come in large numbers to the display locations in the host cities."

Over the next few months, millions of fans in India will get to fulfill their dream of seeing the official winners' trophy and posing in front of it.

"This initiative is about bringing the excitement of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Trophy Experience closer to India's fans in the run up to this milestone competition. The trophy embodies both the dreams of the best U-17 players in the world and those of millions of Indian fans who will be hosting the football world in October," commented FIFA chief commercial officer Philippe Le Floc'h.