FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup cancelled due to new Covid variant found in South Africa

11/27/2021

The FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup 2021 has been put on hold due to the new Covid variant found in South Africa. The FIH, the South African Hockey Association, and the North-West University of Potchefstroom have decided that the event cannot take place given the current situation.

16 teams including India were scheduled to take part in the competition, which was supposed to start on December 5.

“The safety of everyone involved in the FIH events is an absolute priority,” FIH CEO Thierry Weil said. “Additionally, many countries, including from some of the participating teams, have now strongly increased their travel restrictions with South Africa, including halting flights. Therefore, it simply isn’t possible to maintain this event as planned.

“This is hugely disappointing. An FIH Junior World Cup is so important for the development of young players. Also, it was the first time that an FIH World Cup was due to take place on African soil. On behalf of FIH, I’d like to thank all teams for their understanding as well as the local organisers for their great work and collaboration,” Weil added.

The decision on the new dates for the competition will be taken later. While the new variant -- B.1.1.529, has been a cause of global concern.