Serie A shelves plans for US tournament during FIFA World Cup

Serie A has shelved plans to organise a tournament in the United States during this year's World Cup, two club officials said on Thursday. Qatar will host the World Cup from Nov.

21 to Dec. 18, forcing major European leagues such as Serie A to take a prolonged break during the domestic season.

Under plans unveiled in February, Serie A was looking to organise a special tournament in Orlando, involving all of the league's 20 clubs, utilising players that had not been called up for their national teams in Qatar. To beef up teams whose ranks had been reduced by national team call-ups, the Italian league explored ways to get authorisations for temporary loan agreements for players from other national competitions.

Yet the attempt proved unsuccessful, making it difficult for some teams to take part in the tournament, while the financial returns were uncertain, the sources said after an internal Serie A meeting which discussed the matter on Thursday.