The Japanese Football Association (JFA) has dropped out from hosting this year’s FIFA Club World Cup due to COVID-19 restrictions, according to a press report by Nippon released on Wednesday.
The FIFA Club World Cup, in which top champions from the six global confederations compete along with the host nation’s top team, was due to be held there in December.
The decision comes as the JFA worries about increasing COVID-19 infections as well as the lack of profit due to the low number of spectators who will be at the event.
The JFA remains in talks with FIFA, which may push postpone the event to early next year, the report said.
Japan has battled a record fifth wave of virus cases driven by the highly contagious Delta variant this summer, even as the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics went ahead under strict virus restrictions.
Much of the country is currently under strict measures that limit the number of spectators at sports events.
The JFA’s profit for 2020 dropped by 5 billion yen compared to 15 billion yen (USD136 million) recorded in 2019 due to the absence of spectators at sporting events, according to JFA President Kozo Tashima.
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