The International Hockey Federation postponed this year's inaugural FIH World Hockey 5s event to 2022 on Wednesday due to "uncertainties" surrounding the global evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 'FIH Hockey 5s Lausanne 2021' event was initially planned to be held in September this year but has now been deferred to next year.
FIH CEO Thierry Weil said in a statement that the decision was taken to “preserve the full promotion potential of the event.”
He did agree, however, that the decision was disappointing, keeping the global exposure of Hockey 5s in mind.
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He added, "I'd like to extend sincere thanks to all stakeholders who have considerably helped us so far, and in particular the City of Lausanne, the canton of Vaud, the Fond du Sport Vaudois, the Swiss Hockey Association, our partners and all teams who had confirmed their participation."
"I look forward to pursuing our preparations together and invite all hockey fans to join us next year!"
Next year's event, which will be staged on the Place de la Navigation, an iconic location near the Lac Léman bordering the Olympic Capital, will provide an exciting mix of intense competition, music entertainment and additional activities, such as an initiation to hockey for the public.
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Access will be free of charge and the tournaments, both men's and women's, will be broadcasted live across the world on the Watch.Hockey platform.
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