Off the back of the success of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2017 in Korea Republic, and with the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 on the horizon, FIFA has launched the bidding process for the next editions of both of its men’s youth competitions – to be staged in 2019.
The bidding process for both tournaments recently got underway, with a deadline of 7 July 2017 having been set for FIFA member associations to declare an interest in staging either of the competitions. Member associations are being given the opportunity to bid for both events, however each event will be awarded to a different host.
After that initial stage in the process, bidding and hosting documents will be sent by FIFA on 14 July to the relevant associations, who will have until 18 August to re-confirm their interest in becoming the tournament’s hosts.
Definitive bids must then be submitted by 1 November, with the appointment of each host scheduled for Q4 2017 or Q1 2018 by the FIFA Council.
The FIFA U-20 and U-17 World Cups are two of FIFA’s oldest competitions, dating back to 1977 and 1985 respectively. Since their inceptions, both competitions have grown in size and stature, adding lustre to the game by producing great attacking football and unveiling exciting players for the future.
Players who have received the prestigious adidas Golden Ball for their performance at the FIFA U-20 World Cup include Diego Maradona, Robert Prosinecki, Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero and Paul Pogba, whilst at the U-17 level they include Landon Donovan, Cesc Fabregas and Toni Kroos, to name a few.
