FIFA U17 Women's World Cup to be held in February - March 2021
The much-anticipated Womenâs U17 FIFA World Cup, which was supposed to be held in India later this year, has been postponed to March next year because of the Covid-19 outbreak. Football activities around the globe have been suspended since March and are unlikely to return to normal any time soon.
After India successfully hosted the FIFA U17 Menâs World Cup in 2017, they were awarded the rights to stage yet another tournament â the U17 Womenâs World Cup in 2020. But the global pandemic situation has made it impossible for the event to take place in its pre-scheduled dates from November 2 - 21 this year, so the FIFA has postponed it to 2021.Â
"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," read a statement issued by FIFA.
While the venues for the event remaining the same - Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad and Navi Mumbai, the matches would now be played from February 17 â March 7 next year with 16 teams competing for the coveted trophy. The dates were confirmed after considering the time taken by the different confederations (UEFA, CONCACAF, CAF, OFC, and CONMEBOL)to complete their qualification process.Â
"Delighted to share the new dates for the U17WWC, which will now be held between Feb 17 to Mar 7, 2021. I would like to thank all our stakeholders for their continuous support over this period. AIFF & LOC remain committed to delivering a historic tournament," tweeted AIFF President Praful Patel.