FIFA U-17 World Championship Finland 2003
Finland inspection - a resounding success
A FIFA delegation, led by Jack A. Warner, Chairman of the FIFA U-17 World Championship Committee, has just returned from an inspection in Finland, where this competition will next be staged from 13 to 30 August 2003.
The tour, which was extremely well coordinated by the Local Organising Committee (LOC), its Chairman, Kari Kontuniemi, and the tournament director, Lennart Wangel, included a visit to each of the four venues hosting the competition - Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti and Turku.
The competition will kick off in the Töölö Stadium, Helsinki, while the Final, also taking place in Helsinki, will be held in an arena steeped in international sporting history, the Olympic Stadium, the venue for the 1952 Summer Olympic Games.
The Lahtí Stadium, here captured from a ski jumper’s vantage point, is one of four stadiums that will play host to the FIFA U-17 World Championship Finland 2003 from Aug 13-30. |
The Lahtí Stadium, in Lahti, is situated in an area that is crammed with sports facilities, including world-class ski-jumping facilities and a full-size indoor football pitch.
In Tampere, the main stands of the Ratina Stadium will be completely renewed for the tournament, while those of the Turku Stadium will be brand-new.
"All the facilities we've seen here are outstanding. Not only the stadiums, but also the training pitches, team hotels, media and marketing facilities, and so on," affirmed Jack A. Warner. "Thanks to the remarkable efforts of the LOC, I am convinced that this tournament will be a huge success."
16 teams will contest the FIFA U-17 World Championship Finland 2003. The Nordic nation, as hosts, and the Asian teams from Korea Republic, Yemen and China PR have already qualified. They will be joined by three teams each from CAF, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, two from UEFA as well as one team from OFC.
The final draw will take place in May 2003.
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