New Delhi: The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup which was scheduled to happen in February-March next year in India is likely to get postponed due to the rising caeses of coronavirus in the country, according to reports. The tournament was earlier scheduled for November this year but had to be postponed to 2021 due to the deadly virus.
While some of the confiderations have already named their representatives for the mega tournament, chances of postponement are high because the qualifying rounds are yet to be held in Africa, North and Central America and South America.
“There is a high possibility that the Women’s FIFA U-17 World Cup will be postponed again. The new time frame when the tournament will be held is yet not known. But most probably it is getting postponed,” a source was quoted as saying to PTI. When the All India Football Federation (AIFF) secretary was asked about the same, he replied, “No official update. It can be(postponed).”
This is not the first time India is hosting any FIFA tournament. Earlier in 2017, the country has hosted the U-17 Men’s World Cup which was won by England beating Spain in the final. Meanwhile, Europe has selected Spain, England and Germany as their highest-ranked teams after cancelling the qualification round.
Confederation of Oceania also did the same nominating New Zealand as their representative. Asia on the other hand had conducted the qualification round. Japan and North Korea qualified for the final stage after winning and becoming runner-up in the U-16 AFC Women’s Championship respectively.
The AIFF planned to start the training session from next month but the situation and reports claim that they need to reschedule it. The coach and the players are in their respective houses without any outdoor training since March, the time pandemic was announced.
