NEW DELHI: The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, originally scheduled to be held later this year in India, has been moved back to early 2021, FIFA said on Tuesday.
The age eligibility criteria for the tournament will remain the same.
The tournament will now be held – subject to further monitoring – from February 17 to March 7 in 2021, as against the originally scheduled dates of November 2 to 21 this year.
FIFA had earlier pushed back the tournament owing to the novel coronavirus pandemic, which had forced the postponement of five continental qualifying events.
So far, Japan and North Korea have qualified from the two available slots for Asian teams, with India qualifying for the main tournament as hosts. The other 13 spots are still up for grabs.
Players born on or between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2005 will continue to be eligible to play at the tournament despite the postponement, meaning it will now be a de facto ‘under-18’ World Cup.
Five venues – Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Kolkata and Navi Mumbai – had already been finalised to hold games during the tournament, with the opening game being allotted to Guwahati and the final to Navi Mumbai.
