![\"Mascot](\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Mascot-U-17-World-Cup.jpg\")
New Delhi: The official mascot of the U-17 football World Cup, starting October 6, was unveiled at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Friday.<\/p>\nNew Delhi: The official mascot of the U-17 football World Cup, starting October 6, was unveiled at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Friday.<\/p>\n
In a ceremony which was attended by Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel and the chairman of the tournament’s local organising committee Praful Patel, a clouded leopard called Kheleo was introduced to the fans, according to an official release by world football governing body FIFA.<\/p>\n
The clouded leopard is a wild cat whose habitat extends from the Himalayan foothills to mainland Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
To commemorate Kheleo’s first public appearance, Goel said: “We are sure that he will be one of the most memorable mascots a sporting event in India has ever seen.”<\/p>\n
“Kheleo is young, vibrant, enthusiastic and a perfect representation of our country. He will help us to involve kids with football in a fun way,” he added.<\/p>\n
Citing the official mascot as a major component of the overall event brand that will represent the tournament and the host country, Patel said: “Presenting Kheleo as the Official Mascot to the world is another big step for our event.<\/p>\n
“As the face of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, he will be going across the country to promote the tournament and to inspire kids and adults alike.”<\/p>\n
Earlier, Mission XI Million — a joint initiative of the Union government and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) — was flagged-off by Goel and Patel.<\/p>\n
Mission XI Million is the biggest school sport outreach programme done in the country.<\/p>\n
The initiative will encourage children to play football, gain healthy habits and final motor skills and learn important life lessons in teamwork and sportsman spirit.<\/p>\n
The approach is to work with school principals and sports teachers and encourage and incentivise them to make children play regular football games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: The official mascot of the U-17 football World Cup, starting October 6, was unveiled at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Friday.<\/p>\n
In a ceremony which was attended by Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel and the chairman of the tournament’s local organising committee Praful Patel, a clouded leopard called Kheleo was introduced to the fans, according to an official release by world football governing body FIFA.<\/p>\n
The clouded leopard is a wild cat whose habitat extends from the Himalayan foothills to mainland Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[12975,466,7873,1237,20394],"class_list":["post-33216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football-football","tag-football-news","tag-indian-sports-news","tag-jawaharlal-nehru-stadium","tag-praful-patel","tag-u-17-football-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"\n