The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022™, will take place between 11 and 30 October this year, and the countdown is well and truly on. At a launch event on 5 August featuring two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Lindsay Tarpley and Indian national football team captains, Ashalata Devi and Sunil Chhetri, tickets for the tournament officially went on sale. The Local Organising Committee (LOC) invited six inspirational women who have displayed leadership and qualities to uplift their communities as the first ticket holders of India’s first-ever FIFA women’s competition, which will be held in Bhubaneswar, Goa and Navi Mumbai. Let us introduce you…

Premlata Barik has more than 38 years of experience in rural community health and her mission is to achieve zero maternal and infant mortality. Barik has helped in the delivery of 250-350 babies every month and approximately 4000 babies every year since July 2013. Sabah Khan is the co-founder of Parcham, an organization committed to a just world, respectful of diversity. She mentors youth from vulnerable communities in taking leadership towards social action and helped create history with the first ever reservation of a sports ground for girls in the country, approved by Thane Municipal Corporation. Dr Lata Gaude has worked extensively in the field of marine microbiology and biogeochemistry at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography. She is an active member of international scientific bodies and an Indian Ambassador to German research institute, Leibniz - ZMT. With over 279 peer-reviewed national and international citations, Dr Gaude actively conducts awareness programs and workshops on marine farming for village people as well as for students and faculty members of various colleges in Goa.

Dr Sabina Martins has been running an organization called Bailancho Saad - which means ‘Women's Voice’ - for more than three decades. In her 35 years of social service, she has advocated for empowerment and equal rights for women and girls, addressing various issues relating to discrimination, oppression, atrocities and exploitation. Shabana Qureshi is a Coach Education Scholarship Programme graduate from the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022™ legacy programme. Shabana coaches young girls in her community for free in a bid to increase female participation in the game and leverage the power of sport to uplift human lives. She represented India in the Homeless World Cup of 2017 after taking up football in 2014 as a means of rehabilitating herself. Yolanda D'Sousa , known as the ‘Madonna of Goan football’, is a former Indian footballer who played an integral role in the rise of women’s football in India. She is the first Indian woman to score an international hattrick which earned her the title of ‘Hattrick Queen’ and was named ‘Player of the Decade’ by the Women’s Football Federation of India in 1980. She was part of the Indian team that finished runners up in the 1980 edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup. The event also witnessed an exhibition match following the ticketing launch which featured some of the best Indian footballers – past and present. Among those present were Bala Devi, Bembem Devi, Bhaichung Bhutia, IM Vijayan and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Approximately 200 children from various NGOs also attended the event and got an opportunity to interact with their favourite football players.

TICKET INFORMATION Tickets are available from INR 80 (approximately USD 1) for Category 2 and INR 160 (approximately USD 2) for Category 1 for any match, while venue packages will be available from INR 210 (approximately USD 2) in Category 2 and INR 420 (approximately USD 5) in Category 1 in Bhubaneswar. Fans are encouraged to snap up their tickets as soon as possible, with the best prices available before 8 September at FIFA.com/tickets Accessibility tickets are also available at all three stadiums in two categories: • Wheelchair User: for fans who depend on a wheelchair • Easy Access Standard: for fans who are not dependent on a wheelchair but require seating with minimal step access. Accessibility tickets can be requested over the phone +91-86570 19359 or via email: contact@india2022wwc.com on a first-come, first-served basis and require proof of eligibility. Visa, the Official Payment Services Partner of FIFA, is the preferred payment method for fan ticket purchases for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022™.