The organisers of the IAAF World Cross Country championships, to be held at Leopardstown on March 24th-25th, are still discussing the prospects of staging the event due to the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in Britain.
A decision was to be made today but World Cross Country championship spokesman Liam Hennessy outlined the seriousness of the task at hand.
"These issues are so serious that it is likely this will take longer to sort out than we had first expected. A decision could be made later today but we would not rule out leaving it until tomorrow," he told ireland.com
Hennessy explained: "We are in the middle of very serious discussions and unfortunately I can not give a definite decision until all angles are examined . . . there are two many other factors in this debate to make a rash decision."
Brussels is the leading candidate to stage the world cross country championships if the event is switched from Dublin.
"Brussels is the most likely alternative," said an International Amateur Athletic Federation official from Monaco. "Spain is also a possibility"
The Government is anxious to prevent the virus from spreading to the Republic and the Six Nations championship rugby union match between Ireland and England on March 24th is also in doubt.
The IAAF official said there was also a possibility the championships could be cancelled if they were not staged in Dublin because of the difficulties in reorganising transport and accommodation.
Additional reporting - Reuters