Just three months before it’s supposed to begin, this year’s FIFA Club World Cup will have to find a new host. Japan, who were scheduled to stage the event, have now decided to withdraw as hosts due to concerns about COVID-19. According to Japanese news sources, a major issue for the Japanese Football Association (JFA) is financing. This would have been the ninth time Japan hosted the annual event, having welcomed teams on eight prior occasions, and this year, Yokohama Stadium was scheduled to feature the semi’s and the showpiece final.
However, due to COVID-19, stadiums won’t be allowed to be filled to max capacity. So, instead of full crowds reaching 60,000 and more people, the JFA would be forced to only allow reduced crowds. And it’s already causing financial strain on an organization that lost $45.4 million (¥5 billion) in profit between 2019 and 2020. Furthermore, Japan wasn’t able to have fans at national team events, and the massive financial hit in terms of matchday revenue has forced the JFA to heavily dip into their savings at an alarming rate.
As such, after evaluating things carefully, the JFA have decided that they will not be able to afford to host the event, leaving FIFA scrambling to make a decision. It’s possible they may find an alternate host and the tournament will proceed as usual in December, with Champions League winners Chelsea among the participants. Alternatively, the competition may end up being pushed back to early 2022.
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