AIFF President Praful Patel and Minister of State of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju interacted at length with the India U-17 Women's National team and assured them of their full support and laid down a roadmap for the girls on Tuesday (December 1, 2020).

With the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India being shifted to 2022, Patel stated that the players will receive many opportunities to represent the country in the future and highlighted that the AIFF is fully committed to developing women's football on a long-term basis with the vision to take the team forward together.

"Our young girls should not lose hope as they will get a lot of opportunities to play for India and make the nation proud. This group of players will get ready for the upcoming qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup 2022, and with India set to host the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 as well, these players will be contenders to become part of the senior Women's National team in that event," Patel said.

"The disappointment is there but there is a bright future ahead. It is the direction in which we will move forward. The FIFA U-17 World Cup has been delayed but we will build momentum till 2022 and the AIFF stands committed that these girls will represent India on various platforms and in various competitions. I thank Hon'ble Minister Shri Kiren Rijiju, the Ministry and SAI for their continuous support and dedication and passion towards the development of Indian football."

Union Sports Minister Riji lauded the fact that India was named hosts of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 and interacted with members of the team and assured them continuous support for future age-group and senior-level tournaments.

"With India named hosts for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in 2022, I congratulate Patel and his team for getting FIFA into confidence and assuring that India retains the hosting rights. It shows that they believe that India will be able to host the event successfully and it has reduced the disappointment of the postponement," he said.