Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) The 2021 Asian Baseball Championship, scheduled to be held in March, has been postponed again because of growing COVID-19 infections around the world, with no new date yet decided, the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) said Monday.

The tournament was postponed due to the recent surge in global coronavirus infections caused by the hyper-contagious COVID-19 Omicron variant, making international travel highly restricted and risky, the BFA said in a statement.

The decision was made after discussions with local organizing committee Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) and the hosts Taichung City government, the BFA said.

The organization of any international tournaments at this time is costly and almost impossible, the BFA added.

The exact dates of the championship have not yet been decided, but it will continue to monitor the pandemic situation to determine the best dates to hold the Asian Baseball Championship, the BFA said.

The Asian Baseball Championship was supposed to be held March 20-28 in Taichung after the original event, scheduled for last year, was cancelled.

The BFA said it appreciates the efforts of the CTBA and local governments in Taiwan, which have supported and hosted the Asian Baseball Championship since 2012, as well as local baseball officials for their support, collaboration and understanding.

Asian Baseball Championship defending champion Taiwan announced its 40-man training roster last month, with the first training sessions being held from Jan. 5-26 in Taitung, before a further roster is announced for the second stage.

The final roster for the Asian Baseball Championship will have only 24 players.