Peru’s U-17 World Cup moved to 2023 due to pandemic

The under 17 World Cup which was due to be scheduled in Peru for the 2021 edition has now been cancelled along with the under 20 World Cup due to the pandemic.The Bureau of the FIFA Council has taken this decision after prolonged look at the situation in the two countries, where the pandemic has not given any hope of hosting the tournament in a safe manner. The 2019 edition of the under 17 World Cup was a major success and FIFA has been closely working with the various concentrations to make sure that the 2023 edition was also successful.

The governing body has claimed that Indonesia and Peru will be having the opportunity to host to the 2023 edition. Brazil are the defending champions of the trophy which they picked up by beating Mexico. The tournament comprises of 24 teams with Peru occupying one of the spots. The remaining 23 teams will be qualifying for the tournament at different stages. A total of six cities and stadiums have been earmarked as potential destinations for the matches. These will be retained for the 2023 edition. A number of sporting events have already been cancelled with the Olympics being postponed. The pandemic has been a real challenge for many countries with poor infrastructure.

“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 has therefore regularly consulted the relevant stakeholders, including the host member associations as well as the confederations involved in both tournaments originally scheduled to take place in 2021. In doing so, it became clear that the global situation has failed to,” said a statement from FIFA in response to the future of the under 17 World Cup, which has been held without fail since 1985.