2021 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

The 2020 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, later postponed and renamed as the 2021 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup before its cancellation, was originally going to be the 10th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 2002 as the FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship (the age limit was raised from 19 to 20 in 2008).

2021 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
Copa Mundial Femenina Sub-20 de la FIFA Costa Rica 2021
Tournament details
Host countryCosta Rica
DatesCancelled
Teams16 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)3 (in 3 host cities)

The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in August/September 2020 by Costa Rica and Panama.[1] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FIFA announced on 3 April 2020 that the tournament would be postponed and rescheduled.[2] On 12 May 2020, FIFA announced that the tournament would be held between 20 January – 6 February 2021, subject to further monitoring.[3] In July 2020, due to COVID-19 concerns with the highest cases and deaths of all Central America, Panama backed out from co-hosting leaving Costa Rica the solo host.[4]

On 17 November 2020, FIFA announced that the 2020 edition of the tournament would be cancelled. Instead, Costa Rica were appointed as hosts of the next edition of the tournament in 2022.[5]

Japan were the defending champions, having won their first title in 2018.

Host selection

First round of bidding

On 25 July 2018, FIFA announced that bidding process had begun for the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[6][7] A member association was able to bid for both tournaments, with the caveat that two different hosts would be appointed.[8] The following associations declared interest in hosting the event by the deadline of 12 September 2018.[9][10]

  •  India
  •  South Korea

When India was appointed as the host of the U-17 Women's World Cup, they were then no longer eligible to be selected as host of the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[11]

Second round of bidding
  •  Costa Rica /  Panama
  •  Nigeria

After India and South Korea withdrew their bids, the bid process was reopened. Nigeria was considered to be in the running, with FIFA expected to conduct an inspection tour in August.[12]

In a meeting held with Carlos Alvarado Quesada (the President of Costa Rica), Rodolfo Villalobos (the president of the Costa Rican Football Federation), Gianni Infantino said "We raised the possibility that Costa Rica and Panama will host the FIFA Women's Under 20 World Cup in September 2020 and we have had a good reception of the news".[13]

On 20 December 2019, FIFA announced that Costa Rica and Panama would host the tournament in August 2020.[1]

Qualified teams

A total of 16 teams would have qualified for the final tournament. In addition to Costa Rica who would have automatically qualified as host, 15 teams would have qualified from six continental competitions.

Confederation Qualifying tournament Team Appearance Last appearance Previous best performance
AFC (Asia)
(3 teams)		 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship  North Korea 8th 2018 Champions (2006, 2016)
 Japan 7th 2018 Champions (2018)
 South Korea 6th 2016 Third place (2010)
CAF (Africa)
(2 teams)		 2020 African U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament N/A
N/A
CONCACAF (Central, North America and Caribbean)
(Hosts + 3 teams)		 Host nation  Costa Rica 3rd 2014 Group stage (2010, 2014)
2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship  United States 10th 2018 Champions (2002, 2008, 2012)
 Mexico 9th 2018 Quarter-finals (2010, 2012, 2016)
N/A
CONMEBOL (South America)
(2 teams)		 2020 South American U-20 Women's Championship N/A
N/A
OFC (Oceania)
(1 team)		 2019 OFC U-19 Women's Championship  New Zealand 8th 2018 Quarter-finals (2014)
UEFA (Europe)
(4 teams)		 2019 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship  Germany 10th 2018 Champions (2004, 2010, 2014)
 Spain 4th 2018 Runners-up (2018)
 France 8th 2018 Runners-up (2016)
 Netherlands 2nd 2018 Quarter-finals (2018)

References
  1. "Costa Rica and Panama to host FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup 2020". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 20 December 2019.
  2. "Dedicated COVID-19 working group proposes recommendations after first meeting". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 3 April 2020.
  3. "Bureau of the FIFA Council decisions on FIFA events". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 12 May 2020.
  4. "Costa Rica 'ready to host the entire tournament' as Panama bows out as U-20 Women's World Cup host". The Tico Times. 26 July 2020.
  5. "Update on FIFA Club World Cup 2020 and women's youth tournaments". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  6. "FIFA starts bidding process for FIFA U-20 and U-17 Women's World Cups 2020". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 25 July 2018.
  7. "Circular letter #1643 - Bidding for the following FIFA World Cups" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 25 July 2018.
  8. "Circular letter #1647 - Bidding for the following FIFA World Cups" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 13 August 2018.
  9. "India to bid for U-20 Women's World Cup".
  10. "S. Korea looking to host U-20 Women's World Cup in 2020".
  11. "FIFA Council decides on key steps for upcoming international tournaments". FIFA.com. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  12. Iwedi Ojinmah (21 July 2019). "Nigeria Named Favourite To Host 2020 U-20 Women's World Cup, Fifa's Four-day Inspection Tour Pencilled In For August". Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  13. Allan Madriz (19 November 2019). "FIFA ofrece a Costa Rica y Panamá organización del Mundial Sub 20 femenino del 2020" (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2019.
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