FIFA on Wednesday decided to postpone the Club World Cup, which was due to be played in June/July next year, in order to accommodate the UEFA Euro and the CONMEBOL Copa America during the same dates.
Both the Euro and the Copa Anerica were scheduled to be played this year but now stands postponed due to the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
In an official statement, the international governing body of football informed that the FIFA Council, chaired by president Gianni Infantino himself, unanimously agreed to postpone the Club World Cup after a conference call between all the stakeholders.
“The FIFA Council unanimoulsy decided to include the new dates of the CONMEBOL Copa América and the UEFA EURO (11 June to 11 July 2021) in the International Match Calendar and to decide at a later stage when to schedule the new FIFA Club World Cup which was due to take place in June/July 2021,” the statement on the official FIFA website read.
It has also been decided to create FIFA-confederations working group to monitor the evolving situation of the coronavirus outbreak. The groups will work together to chalk out a coordinated approach to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This exceptional situation requires exceptional measures and decisions. This crisis impacts the entire world and that is why solutions need to take into account the interests of all stakeholders around the world,” FIFA chief Infantino was quoted as saying in the statement.
“We have shown again today a spirit of cooperation, solidarity and unity. These must be our key drivers moving forward and I would like to thank all the Confederations Presidents for their positive contributions and efforts,” the President added.
Earlier, Infantino had also suggested donating $10 million to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and discussing the possibility of establishing a Global Football Assistance Fund to “help members of the football community affected by this crisis”.