Why Postponement Of World Cup Tournaments By FIFA Could Be Wrong

By Olamide Oyetunji - The world soccer governing body has managed the administrative aspect of the round leather game with maturity over the years.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused disruption to football across the world, mirroring its impact across all sports.

Unlimited to the kick and run sport, the health situation has affected events across the world and to varying degrees, leagues and competitions have been cancelled or postponed.

Few months ago, FIFA announced the postponements of some competitions scheduled for the year 2020 and the youths championships topped the list.

Considering that health is wealth, the rescheduling of both the Under-20 and Under-17 Women’s World Cup tournaments until 2021 is a brilliant decision but at the detriment of the participants.

It must be recalled that the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup had been due to take place in Panama and Costa Rica, with the tournament running from August 10 to 30 while the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in India had the original dates from November 2 to 21.

Both the African and South American qualification processes has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

However, there are two reasons why the decision to postpone the competitions could be wrong.

1. Age of the players

Age grade competitions is meant for players under certain age brackets as the U-17 tournament is stipulated for brave young minds not older than 17 at the year of the FIFA U-17 world cup.

Postponement of the competition to 2021 means some certain girls presently in the various teams will be older than 17.

2. Rebuilding Projects for the Coaches

Head coaches of the eligible teams might start from scratches due to age the factor which is natural.

While the major reason for the invention of age grade competitions could be talents discovery, it is different for the employees attached to nurture the raw footballers and they must back it with results to keep their jobs.

How FIFA Could Have Acted Differently!

Diverse situations warrant different approach and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association could have changed the FIFA U-17 World Cup to FIFA U-18 World and the FIFA U-20 World Cup to FIFA U-21 World Cup for the editions alone to the make equations to be balanced.

Originally scheduled to be held in five venues of India from November 2 to 21, the U-17 women's age group showpiece was pushed to February 17-March 7 next year likewise the U-20 due to the pandemic, which has played havoc with sporting calendars worldwide.