Allam British Open aims for provisional date in June 2021
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent
The Professional Squash Association (PSA) has announced that the 2021 Allam British Open, PSA World Tour Platinum tournament has been provisionally scheduled for June next year, subject to restrictions put in place by the UK government.
The announcement follows the cancellation of the 2020 Allam British Open, which had originally been postponed from its original dates of May 25-31, 2020 due to the pandemic.
The PSA, together with England Squash and title sponsor Dr Assem Allam, will now focus on staging the 2021 edition of the sport’s longest-running tournament next summer at the University of Hull Sports and Fitness Centre.
“While running the 2020 event in the next few months just isn’t possible at this time, we are hopeful that we will be able to stage the 2021 edition in June,” said PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough.
“The British Open is one of the most distinguished tournaments in squash and the decision to change the status of the 2020 edition from postponed to cancelled is one that we have not made lightly.
“The COVID-19 pandemic and the ever-changing restrictions and protocols that come with it means that there are a number of hurdles involved when running a world-class sporting event. We will stay in close contact with England Squash and Dr. Allam in the coming months as we look to stage the event next summer.”
England Squash Chief Executive, Keir Worth, said: “The major disruption caused by the global pandemic made it extremely challenging to schedule the Allam British Open in 2020, but we are absolutely delighted to schedule the event in 2021 and very much look forward to welcoming athletes from across the world once again.
“The Allam British Open is one of the highlights of the squash calendar and we are focused on staging the best possible event with the PSA and other partners.”
Dr. Assem Allam said: “We remain committed to showcasing the world’s best squash players in Hull in June. The decision to cancel the 2020 event was an exceedingly difficult, but necessary, decision to make due to the unwavering levels of uncertainty that not only shroud sport in this country but nearly all aspects of our lives.
“We will work closely with PSA, England Squash and the University of Hull to hold the tournament next year and will be following further updates from the UK government keenly to ensure the tournament can go ahead as planned.”
Picture courtesy of PSA