80-85% infra for National Games completed: Goa Minister

Panaji, June 9 Goa Sports Minister Govind Gaude said on Thursday that 80- 85 per cent of the infrastructure for hosting the National Games in the state has been completed.

Speaking to reporters, Gaude also said that the state government was giving finishing touches to sports facilities for co-hosting the under-17 FIFA World Cup in the state.

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"Infrastructure has already been created. Whatever is incomplete will be completed. Some things have to be created anew," he further said.

The Goa government has already spent nearly Rs 450 crore on raising infrastructure for the proposed National Games.

Delay in completing the requisite infrastructure in Goa has been one of the reasons behind the delay in hosting the Games, the last edition of which was held in Jharkhand in 2011.

The Games were originally scheduled to be held in Goa in November 2016. After repeated delays, the Games were later scheduled to begin in October 2021, but were postponed yet again due to the emergence of the pandemic.