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Supporting Under-17 World Cup in India

We provided capacity assessments for grounds used in the Under-17 World Cup.

In 2017, the eyes of the footballing world focused on India as it hosted the FIFA Under-17 World Cup across six venues and cities.

The SGSA contributed to this partnership and played a significant role in the success of the tournament.

To ensure that there were no major incidents in any of the stadiums, and that all spectators could experience a safe, welcoming environment, a stadium and security partnership between UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) was established. The SGSA contributed to this partnership and played a significant role in the success of the tournament.

The SGSA were asked to support the local organising committee by inspecting the six match-hosting venues and calculate the maximum safe capacities of each venue in line with our best-practice guidance, the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds. By undertaking the assessments, we could support the tournament committee to prepare various safety and security aspects for the tournament and help ensure a safe tournament for all spectators.

Three inspectors went to India and audited seven stadia across the breadth of the country. We looked at both the physical infrastructure (some stadia are being redeveloped) and also the safety management plans and practices.

We provided a set of strategic actions to help India prepare for the event, including, but not limited to:

  • Creating multi-agency safety teams in each state hosting games
  • Development of a multi-stakeholder training programme on safety management
  • Developing national policy guidance on anti-social behavior to support local plans

Through our involvement, the tournament organising committee was able to elevate the safety of spectators as a priority and plan for the hosting of each match with the knowledge that the safe capacities of each stadium were underpinned by world-class expertise in sports ground safety.

“This has been a landmark moment in safety planning in Indian events”

Sandeep Mancha, Head of Operations at Local Organising Committee