The world football governing body FIFA on Thursday announced that the Under-17 and Under-20 FIFA world cup initially slated for next year in Peru and Indonesia respectively has been Cancelled.
The decision was made public amongst other decisions taken by the institution to better the game going forward as explained by a statement on FIFA website.
‘’As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bureau of the FIFA council has decided to cancel the 2021 editions of the men’s FIFA U-20 World Cup and U-17 World Cup and to appoint Indonesia and Peru respectively, who were due to host the tournaments in 2021, as the hosts of the 2023 editions’’ the statement read
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present challenges for the hosting of international sporting events and to have a restrictive effect on international travel.
‘’FIFA has therefore regularly consulted the relevant stakeholders, including the host member associations as well as the confederations involved in both tournaments originally scheduled to take place in 2021.In doing so, it became clear that the global situation has failed to normalise to a sufficient level to address the challenges associated with hosting both tournaments, including the feasibility of the relevant qualification pathways. FIFA would like to express its gratitude to the host member associations, as well as the authorities in Indonesia and Peru, for their commitment and the tournament preparations made so far. FIFA looks forward to continuing to work closely together with the host countries to organise successful tournaments,” the FIFA statement read.
As a result, it will take more than the usual period to have the next edition of the tournament.
The Under-20 and Under-17 African cup of nations are scheduled for next year. It is unclear whether this decision may have an impact on the tournaments usually used as qualifiers event in the Confederation of African Football.
