FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in India to begin in February 2021

The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup has been rescheduled between February 17 and March 7, 2021

The tournament was initially scheduled to be held in India from November 2-21 in 2020 and was subsequently postponed due to the pandemic.

FIFA announced that the tournament will keep original eligibility criteria: players born on or after 1 January 2003 and on or before 31 December 2005 despite the postponement. The U-17 Women's World Cup was originally scheduled to be played across five host cities - Navi Mumbai, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar

The Local Organising Committee welcomed the announcement in a statement:

“All the host cities have put in a lot of effort and commitment so far, and we are happy that the new dates will allow them to make up for the lost time and provide momentum going forward. All the stakeholders, including the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, have been supportive of the decision keeping in mind the health, safety and security of everyone involved, especially the teams and fans. The LOC will continue to work together with Fifa, and we remain fully committed to hosting a memorable and successful tournament.”

Here’s the statement released by Fifa on Tuesday:

Following a thorough assessment of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent recommendations made by the Fifa-Confederations Covid-19 Working Group, the Bureau of the Fifa Council has taken the following decisions in relation to Fifa events.

To confirm the following proposed new tournament dates, subject to further monitoring:

• Fifa U-20 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica/Panama 2020™: 20 January – 6 February 2021 (tournament to keep original eligibility criteria: players born on or after 1 January 2000 and on or before 31 December 2004)
• Fifa U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020™: 17 February – 7 March 2021 (tournament to keep original eligibility criteria: players born on or after 1 January 2003 and on or before 31 December 2005)
• Fifa Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2020™: 12 September – 3 October 2021