Dear Federation Members,
Dear Partners,
Dear Friends,
I hope this letter finds you well and in good health during these ever-changing times.
The global spread of the virus made us all face lots of challenges and many of us have had to cancel or postpone important events.
What I retain from this period is the way our community worked together to contain the virus and to remain connected. In spite of all adaptations we witnessed, no one can precisely predict the duration of this crisis, needless to say we all share the uncertainty of the future.
As international travels are still not possible in some areas in the world, besides strongly discouraged even when possible, the ITSF is not able to guarantee the equality of opportunities for the players to take part to international tournaments. The temporary suspension of the ITSF Tour since March 15th and the cancellation of all 2020 World Series, added to the inability to foresee the developments of the crisis for the coming months, makes it difficult to ensure an acceptable balance of tournaments to maintain the ITSF ranking in a fair way.
For all these reasons and despite its sincere will to maintain the competitions, the ITSF made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 ITSF Tour and Ranking.
This decision involves the followings:
- There will be no further official ITSF tournaments in 2020.
- There will be no rankings for the 2020 Season.
- ITSF Tournaments played from January to March 15th in 2020 will be added to ITSF Ranking 2021, with no restrictions to the normal running of a season.
- There will be no change for the World Championships qualifications based on 2019 rankings and 2019 tournaments as provided for by ITSF Rules.
- World Championships qualifications through 2020 ranking will be substituted by additional spots granted to National Federation under certain conditions.
The ITSF is working on solutions to substitute these spots originally provided by 2020 ranking.
The next decisions about 2021 ITSF season will be taken at the end of the year, depending on the future developments of the pandemic.
No doubt that the coronavirus pandemic, that shut down table soccer activities worldwide, has strongly affected teams and clubs. We fully understand that many of you are eager to be back at the tables. However we continue to insist that everyone shall remain cautious. If your local government authorises table soccer activities to resume in your country, make sure to strictly observe their covid-19 guidelines in force.
You will find below examples of initiatives from various countries that might inspire you. In all cases, your decision shall not interfere with local regulations.
- France: click here
- Italy: click here
- Austria: click here
For the past few months, our familiar world has experienced dramatic shifts. However we are confident that you will all continue to put human well-being at the forefront and that international and national competitions will resume soon.
Yours Sincerely,
Farid LOUNAS
President