The FIFA U15 World Cup and Festival, which concluded in Baku on October 30, will be remembered not only for its football matches but also for some remarkable statistics. During the competition, participants were served more than 114,000 hot meals, almost 27 tonnes of laundry were washed, and over 3,000 bus journeys were organised.
As reported by İdman.Biz, FIFA has published its final report on the first tournament of its kind, which brought together 189 teams and approximately 3,000 young footballers from around the world in the Azerbaijani capital.
One of the most impressive figures concerns catering. Organisers provided a total of 114,560 hot meals, including 38,180 breakfasts, 38,240 lunches and 38,140 dinners. An additional 2,135 packed meals were distributed to participants during their arrivals and departures.
The laundry statistics were equally striking. Between October 20 and 28 alone, a total of 26,754kg of laundry was washed – almost 27 tonnes. During this period, staff processed 3,134 bags containing clothing and other personal items.
An Athletes' Village was established to accommodate the teams and accompanying personnel, effectively becoming a temporary residential community. It housed 3,780 people across 445 apartments, comprising 1,533 rooms and 3,835 beds.
Participants were provided with 11,500 sets of bed linen, the same number of towel sets, as well as 4,000 blankets and 4,000 pillows.
Transport logistics presented another major challenge. Organisers deployed 195 vehicles, including up to 105 buses and minibuses during peak periods.
Approximately 3,020 bus journeys were completed throughout the tournament, with 1,950 dedicated specifically to transporting teams to match venues. In addition, arrangements were made to handle 5,103 pieces of luggage.
Interestingly, the Georgian delegation had the shortest journey to Baku, with the flight from Tbilisi taking just one hour and ten minutes.
By contrast, participants from Tonga spent approximately 24 hours travelling to Azerbaijan. Bolivia faced the most complicated return journey, requiring four connecting flights to reach home.
The competition also required considerable amounts of sporting equipment. A total of 900 footballs, 3,328 training bibs, 400 captain's armbands and 2,800 water bottles were used, while 397 volunteers contributed to the organisation of the event.
Administrative operations produced equally impressive figures. The shared email account used by the volunteer team services department handled 11,527 messages.
Organisers also issued 2,338 visa invitation letters, arranged 857 electronic visas and provided 1,200 access passes for participants' relatives and friends.
On the football side, the tournament featured 932 matches, producing an extraordinary 4,505 goals – an average of 4.83 per game. The highest-scoring encounter alone delivered 21 goals.
Another notable statistic was that 187 of the 189 participating teams managed to record at least one victory during the competition.
Meanwhile, 554 players represented 52 academies involved in FIFA's international talent development programme.
The inaugural FIFA U15 World Cup and Festival in Baku therefore proved to be not only a major football event but also a significant organisational undertaking.
The figures released by FIFA offer a rare insight into the enormous amount of work required behind the scenes to deliver an international tournament of this scale.
