Atletico de Kolkata is less likely to get its home ground, the Salt Lake Stadium, which has been ruled out as a possible venue this season by the West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas.
“Hosting the Under-17 World Cup is a priority for us and we cannot let anything come in the way while getting the Salt Lake Stadium ready for the occasion. We can spare the Vidyasagar Stadium in Barasat if anyone likes to have a tournament there,” Mr. Biswas told reporters at the Mohun Bagan Club, where he was accorded a special felicitation on Friday.
The West Bengal government is spending more than Rs. 60 crore on repairs and renovation of the giant stadium based on the guidelines offered by the world governing body of football, FIFA. A delegation of the FIFA is scheduled to inspect the facilities at the Stadium in October.
The construction work, which is in full swing ahead of the inspection, will be hampered if the stadium is offered for a tournament in between, said Mr. Biswas.
