Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Japan Reportedly ‘Give up on Hosting’ 2021 FIFA Club World Cup


Wed 08 Sep 2021 | 07:28 PM
Mohamed Helba

Three months before it is set to begin, the 2021 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup may be suddenly host-less, if reports emerging from Japan prove to be true.

According to Kyodo News, the Japanese FA have “decided to relinquish” their hosting duties for FIFA’s cross-continental tournament, which was (and officially still is) scheduled to start on December 9.

As UEFA Champions League winners, Chelsea are set to enter in the semifinal round only, about a week later, with the final to follow on December 19.

The report claims that the JFA remain in discussions with FIFA on what to do now, whether to postpone the tournament later in the season until pandemic conditions improve again (and they can let fans attend, avoiding a repeat of zero attendances like at the Olympics), or whether to move it to a different location, or perhaps scupper it altogether — though that last option is just wishful thinking on my part.