QUALIFIER ON HOLD, AGAIN

European Olympic qualifier will not be held in London in April

THE European Olympic qualification event will be rescheduled once again. The event had to be cancelled after three days of competition last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The European Olympic qualifier had been set to restart where it left off from April 22-26 at the Copper Box Arena in London. Now however the Boxing Task Force that currently administers Olympic boxing has announced that it will not be held in London in April.

In a statement the Task Force (BTF) said: “The decision was taken in light of the current situation and increased travel restrictions to/from the UK and taking into consideration the feedback received from the European boxing federations and national Olympic committees.

“The BTF is currently evaluating all possible options (including April in another location) and will provide an update regarding the European Qualifier on February 17 2021.

“The BTF would like to express its gratitude to the British Olympic Association, GB Boxing, UK Sport and all their stakeholders involved for their great commitment and efforts in supporting us during these extremely difficult and ever evolving times.”

Only two Olympic qualification events have been completed, the Asian/oceania qualifier and African event. The Americas one must still be held, penciled in for May with a location still to be confirmed, and a World qualifier is also slated for June but similarly needs to be finalised.

It underscores the difficulty of staging the Olympic Games and its attendant qualification events in the midst of a global pandemic. It introduces another element of uncertainty for the athletes who would have been competing in the European qualifier, although, as it was set to take place behind closed doors anyway, confirming the dates for the competition is more important than the venue. It’s to be hoped some certainty can settled on February 17.