Update on the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup scheduled to be held in India in 2020

94

Despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is still confident of organising the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup later this year. The global pandemic has resulted in postponement and cancellations of several sporting events around the world, with the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games rescheduled to July next year. However, AIFF general secretary Kushal Das remains optimistic that the organising committee can prepare for the high-profile tournament with seven months at their disposal – even though the final decision depends on FIFA.

Picture Credit: AFC.com

“Yes, there is still a lot of time left and we will wait and watch the developments in the coming time,” Das said in an interview.

“FIFA will take a call on this, they are keeping a track of all the developments and we will see how it goes,” he added.

The U-17 Women’s World Cup is scheduled to start from November 2 onwards and the five cities of Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Kolkata have been selected as the venues.

But following the Covid-19 outbreak, FIFA announced that they are currently monitoring the pandemic situation in India, while also exploring a few “alternative solutions”

“FIFA is currently monitoring developments regarding the coronavirus outbreak in India to decide the future of the U-17 Women’s World Cup which is slated to be held in the country in November,” the governing body declared via a press release.

“FIFA is also working with the Local Organising Committee to identify any potential impact on preparations for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020, as well as finding alternative solutions to upcoming events that were planned in India in the lead up to the tournament.”

The World Cup will see sixteen teams participate for the coveted trophy, with only three nations sealing their spot till date.

Being the hosts, Team India gained their automatic qualification; while the other two countries, North Korea and Japan progressed from the Asian qualifiers through the winner and runner-up spot respectively.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic has claimed over 38,000 lives throughout the planet, infecting further 7,50,000 more as of now.

India on the other hand, have registered over 1400 positive cases with 40 deaths so far.

 

 

You may also like:

India granted the hosting status for the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup

Dreamer to Ranger: All about Bala Devi, the Indian football tigress who joined Rangers in Scotland