A Fifa delegation has wrapped up a venue inspection spanning six Under 17 World Cup UAE 2013 host cities across the Emirates.
Stadiums in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Fujairah, Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah played host to the delegation, with the overall conclusion that the venues are making good progress preparing for the international tournament that will kick off on October 7.
During the six-day visit, the team assessed all six match stadia and more than 30 training venues, to assess the progress made by each host city.
The delegation began its inspection visit with the Fujairah Stadium on Saturday, and completed the check-up with Rashid Stadium at Al Ahli Club in Dubai on Wednesday.
"The objective of these inspections is to assess how well the venues are making headway with their facilities in preparation to host the tournament in October," a Fifa representative said.
"There has definitely been progress since our last visit to the Emirates, but there is still work to be done before the venues are 100 per cent ready.
The venues and training sites will have to be ready by the end of June, ahead of the official draw in August, where representatives from all the qualifying teams will be conducting a final inspection."
The Local Organising Committee was also present during the visit and Mohammed Abdullah bin Bdoua, tournament director.
"I am confident that within the next few months, the venues will be in an excellent position to host the tournament, in line with Fifa's international standards," Bin Bdoua said.
"The visit from Fifa this week has proved to be very useful for both the inspection team and our venue managers to understand where we currently stand and to identify further preparations required to ensure the venues are fully equipped to host this tournament in six months."
Tickets for the Fifa U17 World Cup UAE 2013 go on sale June 2013.
For more information visit www.fifa.com/u17worldcup.
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