New Delhi:The FIFA football's governing body on Saturday postponed the U-17 Women's World Cup slated to begin in India in November this year due to rising cases of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision was taken by the FIFA-Confederations working group which was recently established by the Bureau of the FIFA Council to address the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The working group recommended the Bureau of FIFA Council to "postpone the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup Panama/Costa Rica 2020 - originally scheduled for August/September 2020 - and the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup India 2020 - originally scheduled for November 2020."
"However, the new dates will be announced in due course," FIFA said in a statement.Meanwhile, the All India Football Federation and Local Organising Committee supported the decision by FIFA to postpone FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
"We agree that this has been made with the highest regard for public health, and the participating teams, host cities, staff and visiting fans, and keeps the best interests of everyone in mind. We were, of course, looking forward to hosting the tournament in November this year, but at the same time, we are mindful of all those around the world and in our country potentially impacted by our decisions," AIFF and LOC said in a joint statement.
"For us at the moment, the primary concern is the health and wellbeing of every stakeholder involved in the Tournament. We don't want to take any risk that is detrimental to our community before it is clear that there is no threat to people's health due to this pandemic."
The LOC and AIFF will work with FIFA to determine the most suitable dates for the tournament and look forward to hosting a successful tournament in the near future.(UNI)