FIFA postpones U-17 Women's World Cup in India

FIFA postponed Under-17 Women's World Cup, scheduled to be held in November in India, due to the coronavirus pandemic on Saturday.

The women's age group showpiece was to be held at five venues in the country -- Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad and Navi Mumbai -- from November 2-21. The tournament was to be competed among 16 teams, with hosts India being automatic qualifiers. It was to be India's maiden appearance in the U-17 Women's World Cup

The decision was taken by the FIFA-Confederations working group which was recently established by the Bureau of the FIFA Council to address the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The working group decided to "postpone the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup Panama/Costa Rica 2020 - originally scheduled for August/September 2020 - and the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup India 2020 - originally scheduled for November 2020."

"New dates will be identified," FIFA said in a statement.

The working group includes the FIFA administration and Secretary Generals and top executives from all confederations. It unanimously approved a series of recommendations following its first meeting, which was organised via conference late on Friday.

While the tournament itself is five months away but just a few qualifying events have been held so far and the remaining have not been held due to the global health crisis which has affected more than a million people.