The FIFA U-17 World Cup is the first-ever FIFA tournament to take place in India and will be the 17th edition
of the competition. The inaugural finals were held in China PR in 1985, and since then, it has been staged in
all six confederations. Reigning champions Nigeria were also the first country to lift the title.
Three teams are either making their maiden FIFA U-17 World Cup appearance or their first-ever outing at a
FIFA tournament: Niger, New Caledonia and host nation India. The latter were invited to the 1950 FIFA World
Cup™ but were unable to make the trip, and since then, they have not managed to qualify. Of the 22
countries that have only qualified for the tournament on one occasion, Soviet Union (1987) and Switzerland (2009)
are the only sides to win the trophy at the first attempt.
Four of the 16 finals played to date have been decided via a penalty shoot-out. Each of those champions
came from a different confederation: Soviet Union (Europe, 1987), Saudi Arabia (Asia, 1989), Brazil (South
America, 1999) and Nigeria (Africa, 2007).
At the most recent tournament, Chile 2015, Nigeria became the first team to win the title five times. They
did so by beating Mali in only the second all-African final, following on from their victory over Ghana in 1993.
To date, 14 different teams have reached a FIFA U-17 World Cup final, producing eight different champions.
Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen is the tournament’s all-time top scorer after netting ten times in a single edition.
Osimhen scored at will at Chile 2015, winning the adidas Golden Boot and leading his team to the title.
The number of players to have won the FIFA World Cup after participating at the U-17 tournament. Toni
Kroos (Korea Republic 2007) and Mario Gotze (Nigeria 2009) added their names to the list after triumphing
at Brazil 2014.
The other ten are Emmanuel Petit (France), Ronaldinho (Brazil), Gianluigi Buffon, Alessandro
Del Piero, Francesco Totti (all Italy), as well as Iker Casillas, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, Fernando Torres and Xavi
(Spain). Will one of the stars of India 2017 likewise lift the most coveted trophy in world football in the future?
The number of goals scored in 52 matches at United Arab Emirates 2013, setting a new competition record, at a
rate of 3.31 goals per game. The average was only higher at Japan 1993 (3.34 per game), Peru 2005 (3.47), Egypt
1997 and Finland 2003 (both 3.66). Incidentally, Brazil are the most prolific team in competition history with
166 goals.
The number of tournament matches played since the inaugural game at China 1985. Brazil have contested
the most games with 75, followed by Nigeria (63) and Argentina (61). Brazil also boast more victories than
any other nation, with 47 wins so far. Nigeria have recorded 46 victories, giving them an impressive 73 per
cent win ratio.
The number of goals scored in tournament history to date. New Zealand’s Hunter Ashworth netted the
1,800th goal in a group game against Paraguay at Chile 2015.
The distance in kilometres between the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi and the Indira
Gandhi Athletic International Stadium. The country’s third-largest stadium is located in Kochi and is one of
the loudest in the world, thanks to its unique architecture and capacity of over 60,000 spectators.
The number of fans that can be housed in the biggest of the six stadiums at this tournament, the
Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.
It will be the venue for the final, among other games. The
competition attendance record was set at Mexico 2011 when 98,943 spectators poured through the
turnstiles at the Estadio Azteca to watch the final between Mexico and Uruguay.
The highest overall tournament
attendance was at China PR in 1985, with 1,231,000 fans flocking to the stadiums, averaging 38,469 fans per game.
Source:FIFA
