GENEVA: The United States soccer body pulled their team from the boys’ Under-17 World Cup in Qatar starting next week for security reasons, FIFA confirmed on Thursday.
Qatar and the Gulf region have been on high security alert since the United States military attacks on Iran started in February, though an F1 race is scheduled in Doha this month.
The 48-nation FIFA tournament kicks off in Doha next Wednesday and the US team’s scheduled first game was Nov. 21 against Montenegro. Their other group opponents were Chile and Algeria.
“FIFA understands that US Soccer’s decision was made in light of the existing US Level 3 travel advisory,” FIFA said in a statement, noting other sports events staged safely in Qatar this year. They included a track and field Diamond League meeting, a MotoGP race last week and qualifying games for the 2027 FIBA World Cup in men’s basketball.
FIFA and Qatar will next month also organize the men’s Intercontinental Cup featuring Paris Saint-Germain, the Qatari-owned Champions League titleholder.
FIFA said: “security assessments remain unchanged, and no new developments affecting the security situation around the tournament have occurred.”
The Dominican Republic will take their place in Qatar as a replacement, FIFA said later, after finishing second in the qualifying group that the US won in the CONCACAF region.
