D.Y.Patil Stadium was proud to host the FIFA U17 tournament . It was an endeavor to create history by being a part of the world’s largest sporting event.
The stadium underwent a Rs. 30 crores worth of refurbishment, including changing the roof, building 16 emergency exit bridges, two additional dressing rooms and setting up four training grounds in the vicinity. Spectators enjoyed the true experience of viewing an international game in the newly laid out bucket seats. In addition to that a 500 KW solar plant was installed to take care of more than 70 per cent of electrical requirements of the stadium as an initiative to minimize the unfavorable environmental effect of the stadium. The D.Y.Patil Stadium, thus, not only met but elevated global stadium standards.
The D.Y.Patil institute curated a series of events to inspire the football fever in mumbaikars. Beginning with the launch of a ‘football festival’ which welcomed widespread participation in variety of inter-school and inter-college football matches including soapy football; rink football; gali football; to name a few. This gusto was maintained with a series of remarkably designed social media posts and articles which continued till the very end of the tournament. Amplifying the enthusiasm multifold was the ‘Cheer Like A Champ’ contest that was held in the Seawoods Grant Central mall allowing children to chant for their favorite teams into a decibel meter which scored them, winners with high scores left with free match tickets, and the rest of the mall population enjoyed a fiery dance performance by the university’s very own dance crew. The entire event was managed by students of the university making it a unique experience for both the students and the Navi Mumbai population.
The tournament kicked off on the 6th of October with a thrilling New Zealand v/s Turkey match which was largely dominated by Turkey but ended up as a stalemate, followed by Paraguay v/s Mali, again a true world cup thriller game played by both teams with 5 total goals scored and Paraguay edging out as the winner .
However, Mali exhibited true attacking prowess in the 9th of October match between Turkey and Mali leaving Turkey outclassed by their African counterparts. This was followed by a unique match between Paraguay and New Zealand wherein Paraguay scored 6 goals 2 of which were scored for New Zealand leading to a 4-2 scoreline
Paraguay followed this up with another magnificent performance on 12th of October, cementing their round of 16 berth by topping group B. Ensuing that was the most anticipated match, USA v/s Columbia, which finished with Columbia registering a 3-1 win over USA in a hard fought match that saw both teams qualify for round of 16 from group A.
Round of 16 match on 18th of October saw an all African clash where Ghana beat Niger 2-0 leading the Black Starlets to the quarter finals.
The Semi finals, the last match D.Y.Patil Stadium hosted, saw complete hysteria as the enthusiastic crowd of 37,847 spectators cheered on throughout the dynamic Mali v/s Spain match. The stadium appeared near full and crowds embraced the FIFA fever, initiating Mexican waves that rippled throughout the stadium and lighting up the arena with their waving flashlights. This was truly history in the making and changed the football landscape of the entire country.
