Gothia Cup in Gothenburg, the world's largest football tournament for young people, had hoped to be able to carry out a scaled-down version of the tournament but is forced to drop the plans given the situation in society.
"It feels almost unreal to be forced to make this decision for the second year in a row.
We have done everything we can to give our young people a week full of joy and football this summer, but the safety of our participants and officials is our highest priority.
With the advice we receive from infection control expertise, we must make this decision now, with sadness in our hearts ", says Secretary General Dennis Andersson in a press release.
The organizer believes that it is not possible to carry out the tournament in view of the Public Health Agency's and Infection Control Västra Götaland's guidelines.
Dennis Andersson is critical of how children's sports are handled during the pandemic.
Finally, to our political decision-makers: "Let our children play matches again.
There can not be twenty children scattered on a large football field driving the spread of infection.
But the increased sedentary behavior of our young people risks giving us long-term consequences in public health that cannot be overlooked today.
Thousands of children are standing with laced shoes, ready for a new football season.
More accurate restrictions are needed now, today.
Stefan Löfven, save our children's health! ”He says.
The tournament, which is an important source of income for the arranged BK Häcken, would have been played July 18-24.