Former football players have expressed happiness after Guwahati was confirmed as one of the venues of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup 2020 to be held in India from November.

The Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here will host five Group A league matches and a Group B fixture, including the inaugural match on November 2. The groups are yet to be finalised. The other venues are Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Calcutta and Navi Mumbai. Sixteen countries will compete in 32 matches and the final will be played in Navi Mumbai on November 21.

Former India football captain Renedy Singh said getting matches was not only about motivation but it will also improve infrastructure. “Any World Cup is a huge thing and this event will immensely inspire and motivate girls and of course their parents to take up football more seriously. Apart from that, I think the infrastructure put up for the tournament will continue to serve for years to come,” Renedy, who represented India from 1998 to 2011, told The Telegraph.

After the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in 2017, this is going to be another milestone for the city. The stadium also hosted the India-Oman World Cup qualifier successfully last year. Apart from this, it hosted the South Asian Games in 2016, several international football matches featuring India, AFC Cup, I-League and ISL matches. North East United FC uses the stadium as its home ground during the ISL.

Renedy said events of this stature should be also hosted by other cities of the Northeast.

“You see how the Salt Lake stadium (in Calcutta) has changed after hosting the U-17 boys’ World Cup. The infrastructure is great with four to five training grounds which is fantastic. I’m sure Guwahati too will benefit,” Renedy, who played for Calcutta giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal during his heydays, said.

Women’s football legend Oinam Bembem Devi, who was recently awarded the Padma Shri, said: “I think this is one of the best things to happen to the region. This will serve as a hugh motivation for football in general, and especially women,” she told The Telegraph.

Member-secretary of the state-level advisory committee for student and youth welfare, Lakhya Konwar, expressed hope that it will be another successful sporting event hosted by the state.

“We are extremely hopeful. I know the people are excited to be part of the mega event, which will help us achieve our dream of becoming the sports capital. We seek everyone’s cooperation. I’m sure the turnout will be huge like the India-Oman match last year,” Konwar said here on Wednesday.

He also disclosed that the India women’s squad may train here.