FIFA moves Club World Cup to February

The FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar has been pushed to February due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the world football governing body announced Tuesday.

The tournament was scheduled to take place in December, but will now be held from Feb. 1-11 after various continental tournaments around the world were brought to a halt by the pandemic earlier this year.

A statement from FIFA reads: “The FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020, which was originally scheduled for December, has been subject to the disruptive effect of the pandemic on the confederations’ continental club championships that serve as a pathway for the event.

“The introduction of strict return-to-play protocols has facilitated a successful resumption of continental club championships, the last of which is now scheduled to conclude by the end of January 2021.”

Bayern Munich, one of two teams that qualified for the tournament, will represent Europe after winning the Champions League. Liverpool won last year’s competition.

FIFA also announced that the women’s Under-20 and Under-17 2020 World Cups have been canceled despite being rescheduled for 2021 earlier this year.