Fifa moves Men’s U17 and U20 World Cups to 2023 due to Covid-19

The announcement follows the postponement of Fifa Women’s U17 World Cup in India to 2022.

FIFA Under 17 World Cup, Brazil v Mexico, Bezerrao Stadium, Brasilia, Brazil, November 17, 2019.
Reuters

FIFA Under 17 World Cup, Brazil v Mexico, Bezerrao Stadium, Brasilia, Brazil, November 17, 2019.

Next year's Men's U20 World Cup in Indonesia and Men's U17 tournament in Peru have been moved to 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, soccer's world governing body Fifa said on Thursday.

"As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bureau of the Fifa Council has decided to cancel the 2021 editions of the Men’s Fifa U20 World Cup and Fifa U17 World Cup, and to appoint Indonesia and Peru respectively, who were due to host the tournaments in 2021, as the hosts of the 2023 editions," the world football's governing body said in a statement.

"The Covid-19 pandemic continues to present challenges for the hosting of international sporting events and to have a restrictive effect on international travel," Fifa said in a statement.

"Fifa would like to express its gratitude to the host member associations, as well as the authorities in Indonesia and Peru, for their commitment and the tournament preparations made so far."

Earlier, the 2021 U17 Women's World Cup, scheduled to be held in India in February, was cancelled. 

The tournament, initially set to be the 2020 U17 Women's World Cup, was initially postponed to February from November before being cancelled altogether. 

India will instead host the the next edition of the tournament in 2022.

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