All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel confirmed to TOI on Thursday that efforts are on to bring Portugal captain and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo to India in July to grace the draw ceremony of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. The draw for the tournament will take place in Mumbai on July 7 while the event will be held from October 6 to 28.
"Nothing is confirmed. All I can say at the moment is that we are trying (to bring Ronaldo)," Patel told TOI.
The football fraternity in country is abuzz with the possibility of Ronaldo, nicknamed CR7, making the trip to India. Barcelona legend and World Cup winner with Spain, Carles Puyol has already confirmed that he will be India next week to launch the ticket sales for the under-17 World Cup.
If everything falls in place, Ronaldo's maiden trip to India will definitely give the U-17 World Cup a massive boost. The buzz over Ronaldo coming to India started after the Real Madrid superstar recently expressed his desire to visit the country. During a recent video interaction with fans on social media, Ronaldo had said "India is a place that I want to go soon".
Ronaldo, though, has a packed schedule. The 32-yearold Portuguese is expected to lead Real Madrid's charge in the Champions League final against Juventus in Cardiff on June 3 before linking up with his national team for the Confederations Cup which will be held in Russia from June 17 to July 2. Even if Portugal - the reigning European champions - make it to the summit clash of the tournament, Ronaldo would still have small window to visit India for the U-17 WC draw provided other things fall in place.
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