Beijing, March 18 (IANS): FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said that the 2021 China FIFA Club World Cup should be moved to "later in 2021, in 2022 or in 2023" as Euro 2020 Championship and the Copa America have been postponed to June/July, 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic.
"The June/July of 2021 in a slot currently reserved for the new FIFA Club World Cup," Infantino said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that he has called for the council conference on Wednesday, which plans to accept the postponement requests from the European and South American tournaments and later discuss when to reschedule the 2021 Club World Cup.
"The world is facing an unprecedented health challenge and clearly a global and collective response is needed. Cooperation, mutual respect and understanding must be the guiding principles for all decision makers to have in mind at this crucial moment in time," Infantino said.
He said that FIFA will discuss with the Chinese government and Chinese Football Association to postpone the new Club World Cup to "later in 2021, in 2022 or in 2023", with an aim to minimise any negative impact.
2021 Club World Cup is a brand new tournament, which will be held every four years featuring 24 teams and replaces the seven-team annual event.
In the statement, Infantino also suggested to donate $10 million to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund and discuss the possibility of establishing a Global Football Assistance Fund to "help members of the football community affected by this crisis".
Over 7,000 people have lost their lives across the world due to the deadly disease.