The All India Football Federation and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, which was due to be held in India from November 2 to 21 in 2020, announced that the tournament would now be played in 2021.

The LOC on Tuesday revealed the new dates of the tournament – February 17 to March 21 – after it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

AIFF and LOC Official Statement on the announcement of new dates for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: February 17 – March 7, 2021

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“Following today’s announcement by FIFA, the AIFF and LOC are pleased with the confirmation of the new dates for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020, which will now be held between 17 February and 7 March 2021,” the LOC said in a statement.

“The dates were confirmed after taking into account the time needed to complete the UEFA, CONCACAF, CAF, OFC, and CONMEBOL qualification tournaments as well as the best possible conditions in the country to host a successful FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup,” it added.

“We are now looking ahead and hoping to host a wonderful tournament that will give women’s football in India, the perfect platform to grow and develop.

“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,” the statement further said.

FIFA-Confederations working group, which was established by the Bureau of the FIFA Council to address the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, had taken the decision to postpone the multi-nation event in early April, considering the deteriorating situation across the world caused by the novel coronavirus.

Though the U-17 Women’s World Cup was eight months away, most of the qualifying competitions leading up to the tournament were yet to take place.

The working group had also decided to “postpone the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup Panama/Costa Rica 2020 – originally scheduled for August/September 2020″.