The 2021 Americas and Asia-Pacific Goalball Championships have been postponed until 2022 ©Getty Images

The 2021 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Americas and Asia-Pacific Goalball Championships, initially scheduled for October and November this year respectively, have been pushed to 2022 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The 2021 Americas competition was due to be hosted by São Paulo in Brazil in October and will now take place from February 15 to 22 2022.

The 2021 Asia-Pacific dates have not been confirmed, though the competition, which is set to be hosted by Asan in South Korea, will take place in early 2022, the IBSA said.

"Unfortunately COVID-19 is still causing local Organising Committees and teams significant challenges and we have had to make these changes to ensure the competitions can go ahead," IBSA Goalball Committee chairman Kari Rasanen said.

Tokyo 2020 silver medallists China will have to wait until 2022 to compete in the 2021 Asia-Pacific Goalball Championships ©Getty Images
Tokyo 2020 silver medallists China will have to wait until 2022 to compete in the 2021 Asia-Pacific Goalball Championships ©Getty Images

"After a successful Paralympic Games in Tokyo, it is crucial that we are able to gather as many teams together as possible to ensure high quality competitions for athletes and fans, and to continue to grow goalball within these regions.

"We are confident that the LOCs (local Organising Committees) will still put on a great show in the build-up to the 2022 World Championships in Hangzhou, China, in June."

Covid restrictions in Asia have been far stricter than in the West, with many sporting events cancelled or postponed as a result. 

The 2021 2021 IBSA Goalball European Championships C are still scheduled to take place in Targu Mures in Romania from November 14 to 21 this year.

The IBSA Goalball African Championships are set to start on December 3 and close on December 11 2021 in Cape Coast in Ghana.