Dubai: FINA, the world governing body for aquatics, has rescheduled the upcoming edition of the World Swimming Championships (25m) that were initially to take place in Abu Dhabi in December.
Fina has announced that the competition will now be held from December 13 to 18, 2021, while the FINA World Aquatics Convention will take place also in Abu Dhabi before the competition, from December 10 to 12.
This will be the second time in the history that these Championships are held in the UAE, following a successful edition that was organised at the brand-new Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai, in 2010.
“Given the uncertainty related with the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, the safeguard of the athletes’ health and safety, and in accordance with the request of the UAE authorities, FINA has decided to re-schedule the upcoming edition of the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), initially programmed to take place in December 2020 in Abu Dhabi,” a statement from the world governing body, said.
“We have worked in close cooperation during the last weeks with the UAE authorities on this matter and we believe this is the most suitable solution for all those taking part in this competition,” FINA President Dr Julio C Maglione, said.
“The Abu Dhabi rendezvous in December 2021 will be a great achievement and will once more be a strong inspiration for the development of swimming and aquatics in the region,” he added.
FINA has also announced that the General Congress, where the FINA Bureau for the period between 2021 to 2025 is to be elected, will take place on June 5, 2021 in Doha, Qatar. The new members of the FINA Bureau for the new period [2021 to 2025] will initiate their term immediately after the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympic Games, that are now scheduled be staged from July 23-August 8 next year.
Founded in 1908, FINA is the governing body for aquatics worldwide. FINA’s five disciplines include swimming, open water swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming and all are included in the Olympic programme. With its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, FINA has 209 affiliated National Federations from all five continents.
