Havana, (RHC) - The World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC), in conjunction with the host United States, announced the postponement of the U.S. qualifying tournament for the Tokyo-2020 Games, which was scheduled to take place in Arizona.

The statement said the decision was related to health and safety measures to counteract the spread of the new coronavirus.

The event was scheduled for March 22-26 for the cities of Surprise and Tempe, Arizona, but the consultation of the WBSC and the U.S. organizing committee with medical and government authorities led to the postponement.

The note states that the new date will be announced in due time and recalls that the teams called to compete for a place in that fight are the United States, Cuba, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.

Cuba, which had agreed to play five preparatory matches in Mexico, announced that it will not play those matches on Mexican territory either for the time being.