COVID-19: FIFA cancels U-17 & U-20 World Cup tournaments

The world football governing body (FIFA) has cancelled the men’s U-17 and U-20 World Cups due to the impact of COVID-19.

This comes after the postponement of the Olympic Games and the outright cancelation of many global sporting tournaments,

In a statement released on its website, FIFA said the 2021 edition of both tournaments will be cancelled, and the next edition will be held in 2023 at the venues that were to host the 2021 of the tournament.

“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,” the football governing body said in a statement.

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“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,” it added.

The men’s U-20 World Cup was to be hosted in Indonesia while the U-17 World Cup was to be held in Peru.