South Korea wants to break U-17 World Cup record

The Organising Committee for the FIFA U-17 World Cup was reportedly pleased to learn of the advanced stage of preparations for this year’s tournament in South Korea. A FIFA delegation travelled to the host nation in early March and delivered a glowing report on its inspection of the eight venues in Cheonan, Changwon, Goyang, Gwangyang, Seogwipo, Seoul, Suwon and Ulsan. The tournament, which will feature 24 teams for the first time as opposed to the previous 16, will be played between 18 August and 9 September. The final draw for the event, which will be broadcast in at least 130 countries around the world, will be held in Seoul on 17 May.

The local organising committee has set itself a number of objectives, one of which is to break the current overall attendance record for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which has stood at 735,000 ever since the inaugural event – an U-16 competition – in China in 1985. The Korean organisers have also kept prices low for all 52 matches – a match ticket will cost the equivalent of between USD 2.10 and a maximum of USD$7.40.