Javier Ceppi re-evaluates the success of the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017

New Delhi, Jan 24: It has been a few months since the marquee FIFA Under-17 World Cup tournament has come to an end and now, the tournament director Javier Ceppi said the event was unsuccessful for the fans and there were occasions when he saw footballers changing beside rats in the dressing room in photos. He also felt that more fans should have been given their due priority but unfortunately, no one cared about the essential part of any sport. Ceppi asked the crowd present at the 5th International Football convention to share their experiences during the U-17 World Cup. The crowd were not hesitant to describe it as a poor and unhappy one due to tackling multiple security issues. He also said hosting the tournament was very tough in India with problems occurring in the last hours and highlighted the unsuccessful Commonwealth Games hosted by the country in 2010. "It was tough. In the sense it was way too many things here about it, main thing is infrastructure, to have our international tournament was at place, in India things can come up in the 27th hour," Ceppi said. "We had a legacy of the Commonwealth Games 2010 to adapt. People are saying it was successful which is good, but it could have been much, much better. People keep on saying the World Cup was a success by all means, but to be honest on my experience as a fan, I don't think it was a success for the fan, that's the reality." confessed Ceppi. He further added 'The success for the fans was they got to see fantastic football which they don't get to see. The leagues here they don't have the level which these U-17 teams have. Source: Indian Express 'We missed out on a bunch of things which the Indian system never cares. Nobody cares about the fan, nobody gives one rupee about the fans. Nobody cares about players, there are events where players are changing next to rats in photos," a frustrated Ceppi expressed. Ceppi also said he has no idea how Italian football legend Alessandro del Piero changed and survived in such atmosphere while he was plying his trade for Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Delhi Dynamos FC. 'I have no idea how did del Piero came here and survived in such atmosphere, how did he change in such dressing room,' Ceppi said. Further narrating one his personal experiences during the youth World Cup, Ceppi said "I had to travel by Auto rickshaw." He also said when he asked the local organising body about allotting him with taxi, they made excuses over low budget. 'They said they did not have a budget but I know the budget was so high they could have hosted 20 other World Cups.' The Chilean also revealed that only 47,000 tickets were sold in the six matches hosted by the national capital's 60,000-seater Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) stadium. But on an average around 30,000 spectators attended each of these fixtures here." 'Only, 47,000 tickets were sold in Delhi," Ceppi said at the 5th International Convention on Football Business.