FIFA postpones men’s U-17, U-20 World Cups 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic

The Bureau of the FIFA Council canceled the 2021 editions of men’s U-20 and U-17 World Cup due to the ongoing pandemic and decided to give the hosting rights to Indonesia and Peru for the 2023 editions.

In an official statement, the football’s governing body mentioned that the pandemic has continued to present challenges for the hosting of international sporting events and have an effect on international travel.

It also added that FIFA has regularly consulted the stakeholders, which also includes the confederations as well as the host member associations in both tournaments which were scheduled to take place in 2021.

The bureau came to the conclusion that the global situation has still not normalized to a sufficient level for addressing the challenges that will be associated with hosting both the tournaments including the relevant qualifications.

Hosting rights for the 2023 edition:

The bureau of the FIFA council extended its gratitude to the hosting member associations and to the authorities in Indonesia and Peru, for their tournament preparations and commitment made so far. FIFA officials also added that they forward to working together with the host countries to organize successful matches and tournaments.

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023:

• With the amazing success of the 2019 games, FIFA decided to enhance the Women’s World Cup to 32 teams continuing the growth of women’s football.

• FIFA has also been working closely with the confederations to form a proposal for the slot allocation. The bureau has also confirmed the berths of the 2023 edition.

• The two host countries, New Zealand and Australia will automatically be qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Their slots have been taken directly from the quotas that have been allocated to their confederations.

• The 3 remaining slots of the game will be decided on the basis of ten-team play- off the tournament. It will be used as a test event in New Zealand and Australia for the Women’s World Cup.

• Both the hosts will be called for friendly matches against the teams in Group 1 and Group 2. It will ensure that all the teams will play two matches during the play-off tournament.