Nations League Finals postponed
TMIAMI, Florida (CMC):
HE CORONAVIRUS pandemic on Friday continued to wreak havoc on the Caribbean football calendar, with organisers forced to postpone next month’s final stage of the Caribbean Club Championship along with the 2021 Gold Cup qualifiers set for June.
In a statement, continental governing body Concacaf also announced that it was also postponing the Nations League finals also carded for June in Texas.
“Given the ongoing public-health situation, and following consultation with FIFA regarding the international football calendar, we have made the decision to suspend the Concacaf Nations League Finals, which was scheduled for June 4-7, 2020, in the Houston and Dallas areas,” Concacaf said.
“The event, which includes the Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, and USA men’s national teams, will be rescheduled to take place at a later date in venues to be determined. “This will be confirmed following further discussions with FIFA regarding the remaining international windows in the football calendar and will obviously be subject to public-health authorities deeming it safe for professional sports events to resume.”
OTHER EVENTS SUSPENDED
The statement added: “… following the same considerations and discussions with FIFA, we have made the decision to suspend the Road to Gold Cup qualification matches scheduled in the June international window and the Caribbean Club Championship scheduled for May.
“We will discuss with stakeholders format and scheduling options for these matches and communicate our plans in due course.”
The Caribbean Club Championship finals was due to be held May 8-13 in the Dominican Republic. Jamaican club Waterhouse, Haitian side Arcahaie, and host units Atlético Pantoja and Cibao have advanced to the finals.
Jamaica hosted the group stage from January 29 to February 5 at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex in Kingston.
June had been expected to see the second round of the Road to Gold Cup qualifiers, but they were always likely to be scrapped, especially after last month’s first round was also postponed because of the COVID-19 virus.
Also last month, Concacaf suspended the Champions League, which is at the quarter-final stage; the men’s Olympic Qualifiers; and the Caribbean Club Shield carded for April 3-12 in Curacao.