Ahead of the U17 World Cup, India and AIFF are not pulling any stops to get as much attention for the extravaganza of the age category. There is already Carles Puyol to be part of the official ticket launch and now talks are underway between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) top bosses and Portugal’s captain Cristiano Ronaldo to be in the country when the draw takes place.

The draw is scheduled to take place on July 7 in Mumbai and the AIFF are keen to bring in the European Championships winner from Portugal last year to the country. “We are talking to Portugal Football Federation. We also are trying to interact with Ronaldo’s agent. If he is free on that particular day, he will be gracing the FIFA U-17 World Cup draw function in Mumbai on July 7,” said AIFF president Praful Patel to Hindustan Times.

Ronaldo’s club season with Real Madrid ends on June 4 when Los Blancos take on Juventus in the Champions League final with the league drawing to a close on May 21. Thereafter, he is expected to lead Portugal to Russia for the Confederations Cup which begins on June 17 and ends on July 2.

The news comes at a time when Ronaldo had proclaimed on social media that he has desire to visit India. Upon reaching 100 million followers on Instagram, Cristiano Ronaldo went live and amongst many things, said, “India is a place that I wanna go soon [sic].”

FIFA Under-17 World Cup kicks off on October 6 with the final in Kolkata on October 28. India will be part of the 24-team tournament as hosts – first time India are playing a FIFA tournament.

Source: The Indian Express