FIFA has canceled the 2021 U-17 and U-20 World Cups due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federation announced in a Thursday release.
The U-17 World Cup was originally slated to take place in Peru and the U-20 World Cup in Indonesia, with FIFA also announcing that both countries will now be hosting the respective tournaments in 2023.
"The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present challenges for the hosting of international sporting events and to have a restrictive effect on international travel," FIFA said in Thursday's statement. "FIFA has therefore regularly consulted the relevant stakeholders, including the host member associations as well as the confederations involved in both tournaments originally scheduled to take place in 2021.
"In doing so, it became clear that the global situation has failed to normalize to a sufficient level to address the challenges associated with hosting both tournaments, including the feasibility of the relevant qualification pathways."
The United States U-20s have reached the quarterfinals in each of the last three U-20 World Cups, while the U-17s made the quarterfinals in 2017.
