All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday expressed intentions of hosting the FIFA U-20 World Cup in India in 2019.

AIFF’s president, Praful Patel, voiced that hosting of the Under-20 tournament will be the next “logical step for the development of Football in India.”

“With India hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 this year in October, we feel hosting the U-20 World Cup would be the best way to sustain the footballing momentum in India. Even though the event was held earlier this year in Asia in Korea Republic, we would be happy to discuss with FIFA about the possibility of hosting the event in India in 2019,” he explained in a press release.

India will host the FIFA U-17 World Cup from October 6-28 later this year.

The format of the U-20 World Cup is similar to that of the FIFA U-17 World Cup with 24 teams playing out of six venues.