New Delhi:The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, which was supposed to be held India in November 2020, has been rescheduled for February 17 to March 7, 2021, the governing body announced on Tuesday.
The decision to announce the new dates of the tournament was taken after a thorough assessment of the situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought global sports activities to a grinding halt.
"Following a thorough assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent recommendations made by the FIFA-Confederations COVID-19 Working Group, the Bureau of the FIFA Council has taken the decision to confirm the proposed new tournament dates, subject to further monitoring," the FIFA said in a statement.
FIFA announced that the tournament will keep original eligibility criteria despite the postponement -players born on or after 1 January 2003 and on or before 31 December 2005 will be eligible to compete.
The U-17 Women's World Cup was originally scheduled to be played across five host cities - Navi Mumbai, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar.
"The dates were confirmed after taking into account the time needed to complete the UEFA, CONCACAF, CAF, OFC, and CONMEBOL qualification tournaments as well as the best possible conditions in the country to host a successful FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup," the Local Organising Committee said in a statement.
"We are now looking ahead and hoping to host a wonderful tournament that will give women's football in India, the perfect platform to grow and develop," it added.
The new dates were also announced for the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup. It will now be held betweeen January 20 and February 6 2021 in Panama and Costa Rica.(UNI)