National club champion Fruta Conquerors will not participate in the prestigious Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield in Curaçao, after the regional confederation postponed the tournament until further notice due to the rising Covid-19 cases in the host nation.
According to correspondence signed by Carlos Fernández, Concacaf’s Director of Competitions, the governing confederation decided to cancel the prestigious championship following recommendations from the local authorities of the host nation owing to the rise in Covid-19 cases.
“On behalf of Concacaf, I hope this communication finds you well and in good health. Concacaf is constantly prioritizing the safety and wellbeing of all participating clubs in its competitions. After a rigorous analysis of the escalating COVID-19 cases in Curacao over the last couple of weeks, Concacaf, with the recommendation from Curacao local authorities and the Local Organizing Committee, has had to make the difficult decision to postpone the 2021 Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield.”
The confederation, the release stated, will examine all possible alternatives in an effort to stage the tournament, adding that Concacaf was aware of the respective impact on the participating clubs caused by the postponement. According to the missive, updates will be provided to the respective participants on the possible alternatives that will be utilized by the confederation in an expedited manner.
“As such, the draw that was scheduled to take place on April 7th, 2021, is now suspended while we look into all possible alternatives to execute this competition. We are aware of the impact caused by the suspension of every competition, and we are working hard to ensure that we are able to offer participating clubs the opportunity to compete in this competition. We will provide an update regarding possible alternatives as soon as possible. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Club Competitions Department at clubs@concacaf.org”, the correspondence concluded. The 2021 Caribbean Club Shield which is in its fourth edition and is also known as the CFU Club Shield, is staged annually and features clubs from associations affiliated to the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), a sub-confederation under the jurisdiction of CONCACAF. The Caribbean Club Shield, which is directly supervised and administered by CONCACAF, was introduced in 2018 for non-professional leagues that are striving towards professional standards.
