According to the latest disclosure on the official website of the World Football Confederation (WFC), the first round of the Qatar World Qualification Asian Zone 12 Group B match, in which Australia hosts China, will kick off in Sydney on Sept. 1 at 14:00 p.m. local time. However, on August 6, the AFC released the news that due to the epidemic and the strict anti-epidemic measures implemented in Australia, the country's teams will not be able to host international matches in the country in the near future. In the face of the tournament approaching, the Australian Football Association has submitted an application to the AFC, hoping to move the 12-team home tournament to Qatar to host. Although this request still needs to be confirmed by the AFC, the Qatar Football Association and other parties, but this sudden change will undoubtedly have a ripple effect on the Chinese team as the first opponent of the Australian team.
It is reported that, by the domestic part of the provinces and cities of the epidemic rebound, epidemic prevention situation is grim and other factors, there is no city willing to host the national football 12 home games. At the same time, the CFA has made other plans to deal with the situation in case the team needs to go outside the country for the home matches.
From the end of last month to the present, members of the Australian delegation to the Tokyo Olympics have been returning to their home countries after completing the competitions in their respective sports. As of June 6, all persons entering the country are subject to strict epidemic prevention and quarantine measures. Members of the Australian delegation, including athletes who won gold medals and medals at the Tokyo Olympics, are also subject to 14 days of medical quarantine and observation upon their return.
Although the AFC hopes that the government will give the green light for the Australian team to participate in the tournament and meet the requirements of FIFA and AFC regarding the entry of personnel and officials of the host and visiting teams, the request has not yet been approved. Under these circumstances, the Australian team is unable to play at their home ground. It is reported that they have submitted a proposal to the AFC for the team to go to Qatar to play their home matches and the matter is expected to be implemented successfully.
Up to now, the Chinese team can be in the country for the 12 home matches there is also suspense. Prior to this, the CFA will be Shanghai, Suzhou, as the national football 12 home preferred and alternative places, but the recent rebound of the epidemic in a number of provinces and cities in the country, some cities in Jiangsu and Shanghai are confirmed cases, indicating that the domestic epidemic prevention and control situation is still serious. In this case, the CFA had to make other contingency plans. In other words, once the national football team is unable to play in the domestic city, it will have to travel to a third member association country (regional) to play home matches, as it did in the 40-team tournament.
Affected by the epidemic, there are not many third-party member association venues available for the national soccer team as an alternative. For example, AFC member association countries such as Malaysia and Thailand have implemented strict anti-epidemic measures. In this case, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other countries with its superior global transportation and venue conditions, relatively more suitable for the national football team as an alternative venue for home matches. Among these two countries, the cities in the UAE are more likely to become alternative venues for the national soccer team.
As of the evening of the 6th, the official has not yet announced the specific implementation of the Chinese team's 12 home games program. It is worth noting that the schedule of the 12 tournament is more decentralized, the member associations in accordance with the "round a report" way to submit their respective teams home games program. Therefore, even if the September 7 match between China and Japan is forced to be played outside the country, it does not rule out the possibility that the Chinese team will return home for the remaining matches. After all, the second home game of the national football team, that is, the match with Vietnam, will be played on October 7, when the national football team can play at home, will depend on the specific situation of the epidemic in the country.
