Football
How hosting the AFC Asian Cup helped India get world-class infrastructure
The AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022 will be played in three stadiums, with all three venues and training facilities spruced up.
D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai - One of the stadium's for the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup (Source: AFC)
In an AFC press release, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) President and LOC Chairman Praful Patel shared the tournament's preparations leading up to the first matchday on January 20, 2022.
Praful Patel said: "All facilities to be used for the prestigious AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022™ is ready. Special care has been taken to make sure the best women footballers in Asia are provided with world-class infrastructure across the three venues and also the training sites.
"The pitches at all venues have been significantly upgraded to support modern football. Other facilities including dressing rooms, media tribunes, broadcast compounds and hospitality areas have been refurbished. In Pune, new floodlights with LED panels have been installed. And now, we cannot wait for the teams to come to India and play their best game."
The AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022™ will be played in three stadiums at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, the Mumbai Football Arena and the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune with all three venues and training facilities spruced up.
The D.Y. Patil Stadium, the venue of the Final on February 6, has upgraded the floodlights and the pitch to meet international standards.
Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai Sports Association (NMSA) Training Ground and the Yashwant Rao Chawan Ground in Navi Mumbai have revamped their team dressing rooms and both training grounds have been upgraded with new and modern facilities.
Additionally, two training grounds have been built at the CIDCO Training Ground – Centre of Excellence in Navi Mumbai – increasing the training pitches to four for the teams in the tournament.
The pitch at the Mumbai Football Arena stadium, the venue of six matches, has also been upgraded as well as the dressing rooms, hospitality area, referee rooms and media tribune, further underlining the LOC's commitment to providing teams with the best facilities.
Over in Pune, new training facilities were reconstructed for the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022™ while the pitch at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex has been upgraded, and new floodlights installed. Two additional practice pitches have also been constructed to cater to the tournament.
Asia's leading 12 teams will battle for the top honours in the showpiece with the top five finishers joining 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup co-hosts Australia at the global finals.
