FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup will be hosted by India later this year and before that, the local organising committee under the same franchise conducted an event where the past, present and future of Indian women's football were present and it became even more special as it was the International women's day on 8 March in Benaulim Grounds in Goa .
According to a report in The Indian Express, current captain Ashalata Devi and former captain Bembem Devi were also present on this occasion where they interacted with the under-17 women's squad and over 100 girls from schools and NGO's.
“It is very heartening to see everyone out here today to celebrate International Women’s Day and Indian women’s football. It is clear today and very encouraging that the game has been on the rise since I started playing. I am sure that the whole nation will rally around and support the team in November when they take the field and they will then prove to be inspirations for the next set of kids who will choose to take up the game. The future definitely looks bright for women’s football in the country,” said Ashalata Devi.
Roma Khanna, LOC tournamnet director said, "With India hosting the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup later this year, we wanted the girls to get a glimpse of what it takes to be a professional footballer. It was great to see so many young faces on the football field, and you can see that they enjoyed themselves.”
The event also hosted under-17 goalkeeping coach, precious Dede who is also a four time women's world cup participant with Nigeria. She gave a masterclass to the attending NGO and school children.
FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup is going to start from November 2, and the venues are set to be Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Kolkata, and Navi Mumbai. The final will be held on November 21.