The Olympic women’s football final has been relocated to Yokohama due to concerns about the temperature at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium.
The final between Sweden and Canada was due to take place at the Games’ main arena on Friday morning, but with temperatures expected to hit 33 degrees celsius, the venue has been switched to International Stadium in Yokohama and delayed until 9pm in the evening.
In a statement, organisers said: “These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 have focused on providing outstanding venues and fields of play to athletes and have seen incredible sports performances over the past 16 days of Olympic competition.
“In this regard, FIFA, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and the International OIympic Committee have reviewed the planning for the Olympic women’s football final to be held on Friday August 6. In order to continue to provide the best possible conditions for the players, and having taken into consideration the impact of weather conditions at the Olympic Stadium over the last few days, it has been confirmed that this match will now take place at 21:00 at the International Stadium Yokohama.
“As a result, the Olympic Football men’s bronze medal match originally scheduled for 20:00 at Saitama on August 6 will be advanced to 18:00 at the same venue.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino welcomed the change, and said: “We appreciate the focus of all parties in providing the best possible conditions for the players and look forward to outstanding Olympic matches showcasing the players and these incredible Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
“We also appreciate the outstanding legacy for football which will be left for the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, which we are sure will be the host of numerous famous football moments as a legacy of Tokyo 2020.”
Image: K. K. Yam Amot on Unsplash
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