South Africa have been forced to withdraw from the Under-18 Women's Softball World Cup in Peru ©Getty Images

South Africa have been forced to withdraw from the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Under-18 Women's Softball World Cup in Peru due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions.

The team cannot travel to Peru because of new curtailments on movement for people from South Africa. 

South Africa is where the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was discovered and it has become the dominant strain in the country.

Omicron is believed to be more transmissible and South Africa's daily case rate has increased sharply. 

The South Africans' withdrawal means the WBSC Under-18 Women's Softball World Cup is now an eight-team event.

The nations will play in a single round-robin group, with the top two advancing to the final.

An updated schedule for the Under-18 Women's Softball World Cup has been released ©WBSC
An updated schedule for the Under-18 Women's Softball World Cup has been released ©WBSC

The World Cup begins on Monday (December 6), when Colombia face Chinese Taipei, and is set to conclude on December 12.

Lima 2019 Pan American Games venue the Villa Maria del Triunfo Sports Complex will host all matches.

This will be the first Women's Under-18 Softball World Cup, as the event was previously in the under-19 age group.

The event was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic but all players have remained eligible.

The United States - ranked second in the world - Mexico, hosts Peru, Puerto Rico, The Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Colombia and Chinese Taipei are the eight teams due to battle it out.