Work for 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup ‘on track’

AMMAN – The organising committee of the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will focus on the promotional side of the event to further engage football fans, organising committee CEO Samar Nassar said on Tuesday.

Jordan is the first Arab country to host such a prestigious competition, slated to start on September 30, 2016.

"During the previous stage, we focused on infrastructure; now we are going to highlight the promotional side. We will hold a number of activities in the Kingdom's hosting cities," Nassar told reporters during a press conference held at the Jordan Football Association on Tuesday.

Nassar said the competition’s motto is "Jordan is our stadium", to show that the country is ready to host this important contest.

FIFA representative Tatjana Haenni said work was on track.

"We are on the way to finalise contracts with hotels to provide participating teams, FIFA delegations and referees with accommodations," she told the attendees.

The event is going to benefit the Kingdom in more than one way. Besides putting Jordan on the sports, map, for hosting such an important competition, it will also highlight the peaceful atmosphere and bring economic benefits.

President of the organising committee Salah Sabra said the championship will establish a precedent and leave an impressive legacy, so a few understandable setbacks have to be accepted.

"Although the Amman International Stadium will be closed for a while for maintenance, which might negatively affect some clubs, the country as a whole will enjoy this and other high-standard stadiums in the future. Without this competition we would have never had the chance to rehabilitate these facilities," said Sabra.

The Kingdom has to finish the infrastructure for the matches six months ahead of the beginning of the competition. Sabra is optimistic that the work will be done eight months before the beginning of the tournament.

During the championship, over the course of 22 days, a total of 16 teams will play 32 matches on four stadiums, which will be located in Amman, Irbid and Zarqa.

The Amman International Stadium, in Al Hussein Youth Sports City, has a capacity of 13,000. It is few minutes away from Amman’s main hotel districts.

The King Abdullah International Stadium, located at King Abdullah II Sports City in Qweismeh, has a capacity of 12,000 and is equally conveniently set vis-à-vis Amman’s hotel areas.

Irbid's Prince Al Hassan Stadium, located at Al Hassan Sports City, 88 kilometres north of Amman, has a capacity of 12,000.

Prince Mohammad Stadium, in Zarqa, can accommodate 12,000 spectators and is 33 kilometres northeast of Amman.