COVID-19 Impact: FIFA Postpones 2021 Men's U-17 And U-20 World Cups To 2023

With the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc across the world, the Bureau of FIFA Council has decided to cancel the 2021 editions of the men's Under-20 (U-20) and Under-17 (U-17) World Cup events, reports Economic Times.

"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 FIFA Council said.

The FIFA Council announced that the sporting events would be hosted by Indonesia and Peru respectively in 2023 and also extended its gratitude to the host member associations and the authorities in the aforementioned two nations for their commitment and the preparations made so far.

Making the announcement, FIFA Council noted 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 should be noted that around 79 million cases have been reported so far globally since the pandemic began. As many as 1.74 million fatalities have been reported around the world due to the Coronavirus that originated in China's Wuhan city.