The Women’s U19 World Floorball Championships (WFC) 2020 has been postponed again and is now scheduled to be played from 1st – 5th September 2021. The decision was made by the IFF Executive Committee based on the proposal from the Swedish Floorball Federation.
The Swedish Floorball Federation informed the IFF that due to the latest decision from the Public Health Agency it would not be able to host the event, as planned, in May 2021. It is hoped that the Covid-19 situation, especially with the vaccine now being widely available, will improve over the coming months and that by scheduling the event later in the year the number of countries that can participate will also be increased.
The IFF, Swedish Floorball Federation, the City of Uppsala, IFU Arena, and the District of Uppland have all worked very hard to find a way to stage the event, but the decision that states that all sport events that are not considered professional should be cancelled or postponed, means that it is not possible for the event to go ahead in May. This decision applies until further notice, and sporting events with international participation or junior and youth players were not excluded from the decision.
– The postponement was done based on the interest and need of the athletes and the local organiser. The IFF appreciates the great effort of the Swedish Floorball Federation and their event partners in trying to enable the WFC to be played. They recognise the significance of the event for the players as well as the city of Uppsala, and are doing all possible to deliver the event, even with a reduced number of teams and at a possible financial loss. Unfortunately, the latest decision of the Public Health Agency has made it impossible to hold the event on the planned dates, but we are hopeful that the situation will improve over the next few months and we can welcome the teams to Uppsala in September, says John Liljelund, IFF Secretary General, who praised the work of the Swedish Floorball Federation.
Originally scheduled to be played in May 2020 the event was first postponed until September 2020, due to the Covid-19 situation. A further postponement saw it moved until May 2021, when it was hoped that the pandemic would have been controlled and that life may have returned to ‘normal’. Unfortunately, the pandemic situation continues and the decision from the Public Health Agency of Sweden and the Swedish Sports Confederation, makes it clear that hosting at the current time is not possible.
– We understand that this further postponement will be difficult for the players and the Member Associations. This is an event that many of them have been working towards for several years and we are doing our utmost to find a way for the event to go ahead, Sarah Mitchell, IFF Event Manager, comments.
An updated match schedule will be available shortly.