[EN] The AFC Futsal Championship was cancelled. Is the FIFA Futsal World Cup at risk?

 

The draw of the tournament's groups, that would took place in Turkmenistan in 2020. (Photo: Tehran Times/Internet).

The Asian Football Confederation has cancelled the next futsal and beach soccer tournaments, due to some factors: the main one is the concern over a new wave of Covid-19 and the fact that, as a preventive measure to avoid further cases of infection of the virus, the host country, Kuwait, closed its borders. Likewise, the Asian Beach Soccer championship, that would take place in Thailand in 2021, was cancelled. Both competitions would qualify teams for the respective FIFA World Cups.

Originally scheduled to take place in September 2020, the FIFA Futsal World Cup was postponed to the same month, but in 2021, also because of the current pandemic: the host country (Lithuania) wasn't changed. The AFC claimed that it would send participants, as well, if FIFA decides not to cancel the tournament, regardless of the situation. However, it is possible that other confederations may follow suit, given what has happened, and it would negatively affect the World Cup.

We talked to Steve Harris, a longtime futsal observer, about the immediate and future implications of this cancelling by the AFC. Below, the questions and answers.

FD Sports: In your opinion, if the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania takes place despite the current situation, how will the AFC decide its 5 representatives for the tournament?

Steve Harris: I have no idea. If they asked me for a suggestion, I would propose the following: The AFC Championship qualification phase was played last year. This resulted in 16 teams from 8 groups. The 5 places in the World Cup were supposed to have been produced by the AFC Championship. If we have to choose from those 16 without an actual competition, it is easy to reduce the number to 8 first of all: the 1st-place teams were Thailand, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Iran, China, Japan, Kuwait, and Lebanon. Next step: hold individual games by historical performance: Iran vs. Indonesia, Japan vs. China, Uzbekistan vs. Lebanon, Thailand vs. Kuwait. That will produce 4 finishers. The losing team with the closest score qualifies as the 5th team. If there are identical results, determine the 5th team by drawing. I think this would be the fairest way of choosing.

FD Sports: Do you believe that other confederations will do the same thing (and, therefore, the World Cup would not take place)?

Steve Harris: I think that there is a very high likelihood of FIFA cancelling the World Cup if and when the IOC cancels the Tokyo Olympics. And I firmly believe that the Tokyo Olympics will be cancelled.

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Originally scheduled to take place in September 2020, the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania was postponed to September 2021 (FIFA/Reproduction from the internet).



FD Sports: Do you believe that if the AFC were to choose another host country, the tournament could happen?

Steve Harris: No. The problem is that many borders are closed now and many countries are in lockdown or similarly compromised.

FD Sports: How did this affect the national football associations, such as Japan, in terms of preparation for the tournament?

Steve Harris: I think that the 16 countries that were supposed to play in the AFC Championship will continue with their current plan. If a country is told it will not be able to participate in the World Cup, obviously that country will make adjustments.

FD Sports: The men's handball world championship is now taking place in Egypt, behind closed doors, with a 32-team format and with 2 national teams that had to be replaced quickly because of Covid-19 cases in their rosters. Do you believe that FIFA could follow suit and adopt the same measures?

Steve Harris: I have been told that the circumstances surrounding the handball world championship are rather unique. Maybe this competition was possible in Egypt only? I really don't know enough about it to comment.

FD Sports: Do you believe that the qualifiers and/or the World Cup itself could have their formats changed because of the pandemic and its implications?

Steve Harris: Definitely. If a scaled-down version of the World Cup is possible, that will be a preferable solution to cancellation. 

FD Sports: How does this affect the chronogram of futsal tournaments in Asia?

Steve Harris: I have not seen yesterday's letter of cancellation from the AFC yet, but I have been told that the next AFC Championship will be held in 2022. I guess the question at this point is whether the AFC will continue in 2024 (even years) or revert to odd years (2023). It would be hard to imagine the latter because that would mean back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023. How would it be possible to fit a qualification round in the case of back-to-back tournaments?

From the 24 participating teams, 15 are already known, with only 9 left to be decided (5 from Asia and 4 from the North and Central Americas and the Caribbean). The Concacaf tournament, that would take place in Guatemala in May 2020, was postponed and still doesn't have a new date scheduled. A declaration or official note from FIFA about the Futsal World Cup situation is expected.

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