New Delhi: The women’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup, which has been rescheduled to February-March, is likely to be postponed yet again. This is due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in India. The Under-17 World Cup was originally scheduled to be held in five venues including Bhubaneswar from November 2 to 21.
However, the women’s age group showpiece was pushed to February 17-March 7 next year due to the pandemic. The COVID-19 virus has played havoc with sporting calendars worldwide.
The health crisis is still showing no signs of abating. With the qualifying tournaments yet to be held in Africa, North and Central America and South America, there is a high possibility of the tournament getting postponed yet again.
“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 privy to the development said Wednesday.
All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das, however, said there is ‘no official update’ on the matter yet. He was specifically whether there is a possibility of the postponement of the tournament in view of the prevailing situation. Then he said, “It can be (postponed).”
Less than five months left for the main tournament. Yet the confederations of Africa (CAF), North and Central America (CONCACAF) and South America (CONMEBOL) are yet to hold their qualifiers.
Europe (UEFA) cancelled its qualifying tournament last month. The UEFA nominated Spain, England and Germany – its highest-ranked teams to participate in the event. The confederation of Oceania (OFA) did the same and nominated New Zealand as its representative in the U-17 World Cup.
Only Asia (AFC) conducted the qualifiers as scheduled. Japan and North Korea qualified after becoming the champions and runners-up respectively in the 2019 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship.
The AIFF had planned to start the national camp early next month but it may not happen if the tournament is postponed. Head coach Thomas Dennerby is still at his home in Sweden after leaving India in March. The players have also been without outdoor training since returning to their respective homes since lockdown in March.
