The Over-50s World Cup has been cancelled by the organisers on Sunday due to the continuing affect of the Covid-19 virus on mass events around the world.

The decision came after two rounds of the competition had already been completed at venues in and around the Cape Town area.

The head of the tournament’s medical committee Dr Parag Pandya said they had no choice but to follow safety protocols in order to avoid the further distribution of the virus.

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‘It is a public health risk decision. The decision was taken for the protection of the players, given their age demographic, but also for the local population given that 95% of known cases in South African have come from travellers.’

Majority of the teams competing have been staying under the same roof in the city at Evergreen Lifestyle and their spokesperson, Arthur Case, said every party involved with the World Cup was in on the idea to rather cancel the competition instead of running risks.

‘The decision was taken by the organising and medical committees but it is fully endorsed by the sponsors. There was a great desire to continue but, in the end, it became apparent that cancellation was the right thing to do.’

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