With the world reeling from the rapid onset of the coronavirus resulting in the postponement of major public events and the curtailment of international travel, and with new cases mounting every day, the International Federation of American Football has made the decision to postpone two major world championships.
Both the 2020 U19 World Championship and the 2020 Flag Football World Championships have been put off indefinitely according to a statement from the Executive Board of IFAF.
In light of the ongoing uncertainty and changing situation relating to the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) the Executive Board of IFAF can confirm that the following global championships have been postponed:
The 2020 u19 World Championship
The 2020 Flag Football World ChampionshipsThis difficult decision has been made not only in the interest of the health and safety of players, officials and supporters but also in regard to the financial and organisational interests of the competing nations, players and the hosts.
With any global event both the competing nations and the hosts require reasonable time in advance to make preparations and to be able to make those preparations with a degree of certainty that the event will proceed as planned. Any significant changes closer to the event can have a disproportionate effect for all parties, particularly financially.
IFAF is committed to working to deliver both global championships and will explore alternative plans for both events as a matter of priority. Nations will be kept informed during this this process.
The Executive Board would like to place on record its thanks to the respective local organising committees in both the United States and in Denmark for their understanding and their efforts so far. The Board would also like to thank nations for their understanding.
In regard to the staging of continental activity IFAF will continue to monitor the situation and work closely with partners to ensure timely and effective decisions can be made in the best interests of our members and partners.
In the meantime, IFAF advises all nations to follow the health and safety advice issued by their respective governments when planning any activity.
For all enquiries please contact info@ifaf.
The dates and times for the 2020 U19 World Championship had not been set while the 2020 Flag Football World Championships were scheduled for Denmark August 19-August 23, 2020.