FIH Odisha Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup 2021 to be held sans spectators

Bhubaneswar: The FIH Odisha Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup 2021 will be held at Kalinga Stadium here sans spectators as Hockey India and FIH have decided to hold the marquee quadrennial tournament behind closed doors.

However, fans will be able to watch live telecast of all the matches.

The tournament, to be held from November 24 to December 5, will feature 16 teams– India, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, USA, Canada, Chile and Argentina. After five days of pool stage matches, the classification matches will be held from November 30 with the quarterfinals to be played on December 1, semifinals on December 3 and the title clash will be played on December 5.

“While the stadium will only be open to accredited personnel and the participants of the tournament, fans can tune in and cheer for their favourite teams and players, across platforms around the world for all games,” said Hockey India.

With sheer popularity of the sport in the region and expected crowd in the said stadium, organisers believe that it would not be possible control that number of people and yet follow all the necessary COVID-19 guidelines stipulated by the Government. As the pandemic situation still prevails, safety of the fans and athletes needs to be prioritised, said a communique issued by Hockey India.