MANCHESTER: The FIFA Club World Cup, originally planned for December, will now be held from Feb. 1 to Feb. 11 in Doha, Qatar, organisers FIFA said on Tuesday.

The tournament brings together the six continental champions from across the world, with European Cham­p­ions League winners Bayern Munich the first to have qualified.

Last season’s tournament ended with Liverpool beating Brazilian club Flamengo in the final.

FIFA did not state if supporters would be able to attend any of the games noting only that “In line with FIFAs International Match Protocol, FIFA and the host country will provide the required safeguards for the health and safety of all involved.”

A new expanded 24-team Club World Cup was due to be held in June/July 2021 in China but coronavirus-related delays to Euro 2020 and the Copa America, which will be held a year late, have led to the postponement of that plan.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2020