London, May 1 (IANS): The 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games will be postponed potentially to 2023 in the wake of the Tokyo Olympics being postponed to next year, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) announced on Friday. The event was scheduled to take place From August 1 to 7, 2021 in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled to take place from July 24 to August 9, 2020 was postponed to July 23 to August 8, 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The CGF said that it could now be looking at 2023 as a potential year for holding the Commonwealth Youth Games.

"The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Executive Board have decided to explore rescheduling options for the 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games," said the CGF in its statement.

"The seventh Commonwealth Youth Games were scheduled to take place from 1-7 August 2021, after Trinidad and Tobago was awarded the competition by the CGF in June last year.

"The impact of the pandemic on the global international sporting calendar means that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have now rescheduled to the summer of 2021 during the original dates of the Youth Games.

"Following positive discussions, the CGF has agreed to consider the best alternative options and timeframes for staging the event in the future, potentially in 2023. The CGF has given the Trinidad and Tobago Commonwealth Games Association (TTCGA) consideration as the first option to host."

"The rescheduling of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has also changed demands on scheduling and resources for many of our Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) and International Federations from 2020 to 2021," said CGF President Louise Martin.

"COVID-19 has had a devastating impact across the world and everyone's absolute priority is the health and wellbeing of their communities.

"Our decision has been made in the best interests of athletes, fans and citizens that are to benefit from these transformational Games."