Two-time defending champions, Spain, was defeated by North Korea in the final on Sunday, 3 November 2024 of the FIFA U-17 Women’s Cup at the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium.
North Korea won 4-3 in the penalties of the game that was tied to 1-1.
This is North Korea’s third U17 title. The Koreans had previously won all of their games at the competition, the eighth World Cup for women at U17 level. They had already beaten teams from England and the United States, the European and Olympic champions at senior level.
Giovanni Infantino, president of the FIFA, commended the Dominican authorities and the president of the Dominican Football Federation, Jose Deschamps for the successful organization of the country’s first FIFA World Cup.
The only bad mark on the event was the low following among the Dominican population. The games were televised. The organizers have hopes the World Cup will have served to motivate more soccer following in the country.
The tournament was held from 16 October to 3 November 2024 at the Santo Domingo and Santiago soccer stadiums, but attendance was estimated at a mere 70,000. The 16 participating teams trained at the football installations in La Vega, Moca, Panamericano de San Cristóbal, Parque del Este in Santo Domingo Este, Barranquita and Parque Central in Santiago.
336 soccer players represented 16 teams divided in four groups — Spain, Colombia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, England, Japan, Kenya, North Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Korea, Poland, United States and Zambia.
The tickets to the final were distributed to several youth organizations in an attempt to get more people to witness the final between North Korea and Spain. The final was played to a crowd of around 18,000 at the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium.
This is the last year that the international women’s youth football championship will be contested by only 16 teams. FIFA announced that as of 2025, the tournament is expanded to include 24 teams and the tournament will be held annually.
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5 November 2024