England-Brazil semi-final shifted to Kolkata

The FIFA U-17 World Cup semi-final between England and Brazil was on Monday shifted to Kolkata's Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan on account of the poor ground condition at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati, following heavy rain.

The date for the match would remain the same -- Wednesday, October 25.

Kolkata will now host all but one of the four remaining games in the tournament.

While the ground is already slated to host the final as also the third-fourth place matches on October 28, the Brazil-England marquee pre-summit clash comes as a big bonus for the football crazy city.

Navi Mumbai's D.Y. Patil Stadium is the venue for the other semi-final between Spain and Mali on October 25.

Fans with a valid ticket for the semi-final originally planned to take place in Guwahati will be able to request a refund for the purchase value of their tickets, and will also have priority access to purchase tickets for the semi-final in Kolkata.

Tickets for the rescheduled semi-final match in Kolkata can only be purchased online on the ticketing section of FIFA.com from 8.30 p.m. on Monday.

"All purchasable tickets for this FIFA U-17 World Cup semi-final fixture in Kolkata will be priced at INR 100 and will be made available on a first come first served basis," FIFA said in a statement.

"FIFA and the LOC regret that unforeseen circumstances have led to this decision, which will deprive football fans in Guwahati of this semi-final encounter.

"Both FIFA and the LOC would like to sincerely thank the city of Guwahati and the state government of Assam for their excellent cooperation throughout the competition," the statement added.

--IANS

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