FIFA is having a difficult start to the spring. After having been forced to withdraw the organisation of the 2023 Men’s Under-20 World Cup from Indonesia, due to the authorities’ refusal to host the Israeli team, it has had to take a similar decision for another of its youth competitions, the Under-17 World Cup. It was originally scheduled for 10 November to 2 December 2023 in Peru, but will have to be held in another country. The reason for this is the delay in preparing the infrastructure. In a press release, the FIFA Council Office cited “Peru’s inability to meet its commitments to prepare the infrastructure required for the event to take place“. The international body thanked the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) for its “efforts“, and assured that the country would still be able to try to organise an event in the years to come. In the meantime, however, the Peruvians are out of the picture. It now remains for FIFA to find another host country. Its name should be announced “as soon as possible“, according to the body’s statement.
