After Panama declined to co-organize the U-20 Women’s World Cup next year together with Costa Rica, the country declared this Saturday to be ready to host the tournament alone. On Friday morning the neighboring nation, which has borne the brunt of the Coronavirus crisis, announced its resignation from hosting both the soccer tournament and the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2022.
Against this background, the Costa Rican Football Federation assured that the country will be able to take up the tournament because it has the organization, human resources, sports infrastructure, logistics, technology, and accommodation to serve the delegations. “Fortunately, the organization of the tournament does not require public funding, since the resources come from FIFA and sponsors,” added the Federation. According to the original schedule, the World Cup will be played from January 20th to February 6th, 2021, with the participation of 16 teams.
Meanwhile, the staff of the International Football Federation (FIFA) visited our country. According to a statement from “Fedef Fútbol”, specialized FIFA personnel inspected stadiums, training fields, hotels, and the facilities of the Juan Santamaría International Airport to confirm that our country is ready to host this World Cup venue.
So far there are 10 classified teams out of the 16 that will compete in the event. These are Costa Rica as the host country, plus Panama, Germany, Spain, France, and the Netherlands for Europe (UEFA), North Korea, Japan, and South Korea for Asia and New Zealand for Oceania. There are 6 places left: 2 from Africa, 2 from South America (Conmebol), and 2 from Concacaf. The 16 participating teams will be divided into four groups from four nations.
