The Netball World Youth Cup that was scheduled to be held in Fiji this December has now been cancelled
Fiji's Youth squad had been training hard for their host tournament Photo: Facebook / Netball Fiji
This morning the International Netball Federation announced its decision to cancel the tournament which had been set to take place from 2-11 December in Suva.
The decision was made by the INF Board at a meeting on 12 March which reportedly included discussions on all the risks related to hosting the event during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The INF said the move was made with the safety and wellbeing of participants and the Fijian population at the heart of the decision.
A statement said the decision was made, in consultation with the Fijian Government, the NWYC Organising Committee, and the 20 netball nations who had qualified to take part.
Photo: Netball Fiji
A number of significant Covid-19 related challenges surrounding the event were identified.
This after a comprehensive risk assessment was undertaken, highlighting a number of challenges including the welfare of youth athletes; the inability of teams to adequately plan and prepare together for an intense level of international competition, ongoing border closures, travel restrictions including quarantine measures and costs, and the protection of Fiji.
The Under 21 Championship was originally scheduled for June, with Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands set to represent the Pacific, but the event was postponed by six months because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this month, the Fiji Netball Association had expressed optimism about the tournament going ahead.