FIF7 together with the Russian Federation decide to make changes to the FIF7 World Cup

The board of the International Football 7 Federation (FIF7) and Russian Federation met to deliberate on the calendar for the 2021 season and all the difficulties to ensure the holding of international events in Europe with the great number of restrictions and requirements due to the pandemic.

In Europe, most countries are not granting licenses for international amateur sports events, nor do they allow sports delegations to enter. In Olympic sports or football, events must follow strict health protocols. Meeting the need for quarantine or creating a bubble with the location of the games inside the event hotel is out of the question in football 7.

The two main events of the year are scheduled for Moscow (Russia), but given the uncertainty about the possibility of carrying them out due to the closure of borders in several countries and the strict protocols established that should last until September, the end of European summer, organizing committee format by FIF7 and the Russian Federation decided to postpone the events in the Russian capital to 2022.

FIF7 together with the Russian Federation decided to change dates on the calendar, postponing the realization of the World Cups to Russia in 2022, exchanging the dates scheduled with Latin America, which will now receive the 2021 editions.

“The world is undergoing changes and the sport is having to adapt to this new reality. It is not safe to say that it will be possible to have an international amateur sport event next summer and if there is any flexibility it will be very close to the end of the summer, which would prevent countries from being able to organize in time. The decision to move Russia's headquarters to 2022 is certainly the most prudent and appropriate decision” said Dmitriy Smirnov, president of the Russian Federation.

The three candidate countries to host the World Cup 2021 are Peru, Mexico and Brazil and the events should be held in November, when there is already a forecast of greater flexibility and also due to the favorable climate at this time of the year in Latin countries. Another confirmed information is that there will be a reduction in the number of places in both competitions. The definition of the host country will be on January 15th.

“2020 was a difficult year for the entire sports industry. We are in the month of January and there are many uncertainties even about this year's Olympics that starts in July. We have to work with great prudence in order to make viable large-scale sports projects in this period. A possible cancellation of the day before at the World Cups or Clubs could result in an accumulated loss of almost 2 million dollars distributed among the countries involved. It is necessary to be very cautious and responsible in all decisions” said Hugo Loureiro, FIF7 CEO.

Check the schedule of events for the 2021 season

League of the Americas 2020
Stage Buenos Aires (Argentina)
March 26-28
Adult (men and woman)

League of the Americas 2020 - Finals
April 23-25

Central American Cup 2021
Cancun (Mexico) - 04-06 June
Adult (men and woman)

League of the Americas 2021
Santiago (Chile)
October 9-11
Adult (men and woman)
U-09, U-11, U-13, U-15

Club World Championship 2021
November

Football World Cup 7 2021
- Country to be defined (Peru, Mexico or Brazil)

SEASON 2022

South American Club Cup
February 11-13 (Florianópolis)

European Football Club Circuit 7 (July)
5 Steps - Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Malta

World Club Championship (August)
Moscow (Russia)

Football World Cup 7 (August)
Moscow (Russia)