ZURICH: World federation FIFA is having to find a new host for next year’s finals of the Women’s Under-17 World Cup after Costa Rica failed to meet preparation deadlines writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

Continuing delays in stadium construction has led the FIFA – with the acquiesence of the Costa Rica Football Federation – to scrap plans to go to central America.

Recommendations for a new host will be studied by the FIFA executive committee at its next meeting on March 20-21 in Zurich.

The event lends itself to a nation which wants to take early steps into the international hosting arena, as with the Women’s U-17 finals in Azerbaijan last autumn.

Months later the Azeri Sports Ministry was successful, having proving its organisational capacity, to land the inaugural multi-sport European Games.

This is far from being the first time that FIFA has had to reschedule the hosting of one of its junior tournaments.

Only once has a new host been needed for the senior men’s World Cup at comparatively short notice: that was in 1986 after Colombia withdrew as host in the autumn of 1982. Mexico was preferred as substitute over rival candidacies from Canada and the United States.

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