National Football League tournament changes and responses
On May 31st, China's Football Association (AFA) officially released the news that due to the internal epidemic infection of the Syrian team and the Maldives team, in accordance with the regulations on the prevention and control of inbound epidemics, the two teams were required to be strictly quarantined, and they could not participate in the tournament on time. At the initiative of the AFC, our Football Association expressed its agreement to transfer the remaining matches of Group A of the Qatar World Preliminary 40 originally held in Suzhou, including the remaining three matches of our team, to Dubai, UAE.
This change means that our team will be forced to play on the road. This will not only adversely affect our team's preparation and competition work, but will also create problems for the scheduling of the Chinese Super League and other domestic competitions after the 40-team tournament.
Race Transfer
National football team will leave for Dubai on the 2nd at the earliest.
Beijing Youth Daily reporter revealed that on the morning of May 31, the national football team has begun to collect the passports of international players and related personnel. Our team is expected to take a chartered flight from Shanghai to Dubai on June 2 or 3 at the earliest. At present, the highest daytime temperature in Dubai has exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, this change to the national football team's preparation and the impact of the game is obvious.
On the evening of May 30th, after our men's soccer team beat Guam by 7 goals, the Syrian Football Association announced through official channels that the team had postponed coming to China for some reasons. Although the exact reason is yet to be confirmed by the officials, in view of the seriousness of the incident, the SFA immediately communicated urgently with the national team and other relevant parties until the daytime of the 31st, when it was finally confirmed that the match would be moved to Dubai.
At present, it seems that the change is irreversible. Our team has begun to make preparations to play outside China since May 31. 31 morning, the team notified the international players and the preparation of the operational team personnel to submit their passports. If the passport is not around, you also need to send the passport through friends and relatives to the team's premises in the epidemic-proof red zone of the Suzhou tournament area.
quarantine guarantee
The delegation will be accompanied by more than 70 persons
Compared with the game itself, the health and safety of the whole team during the visit is more important. It is understood that, in order to help the national team to do a good job in all emergency work, China's Football Association has confirmed the organization of a large epidemic prevention and logistical services to protect the team with the visit, and to ensure that all the personnel of the team travel safety.
It is reported that our coaching staff has decided to call up Tan Long of Changchun Yatai to join the team after Fernando is not expected to participate in the remaining matches of the 40-team tournament due to injury. According to the plan, our team delegation will depart from Shanghai to Dubai on June 2 at the earliest. Together with the coaches, members of the epidemic prevention operation, logistics and medical team members, the delegation will have more than 70 people to Dubai.
For the national football team, in addition to traveling health and safety issues of concern, "away" game conditions are also worth paying attention to. Weather forecast information shows that the recent Dubai daytime outdoor temperature has reached more than 40 degrees Celsius, is not suitable for outdoor activities. Comparatively speaking, the Syrian team, the Maldives team is more adept at training in hot climatic conditions, the game, our team for the "bitter war" to be fully prepared psychologically.
Despite the accident to our team's preparations to bring the impact, but in order to fight for the line, the team is still according to the plan to implement the training content. 4:00 p.m. on May 31, the whole team will still go to the place within the red zone of the epidemic prevention to carry out closed training. For the national football team and its manager Li Tie at this moment, really do "not be shocked by the change" is very realistic.
reach
Draw for the Top 12: Group Draw Ceremony to be held in late June
On the evening of May 31, news came from the AFC that the group draw for the Qatar World Qualifier Asian Zone 12 will take place on the afternoon of June 24 at the AFC's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This means that the remaining matches in Group A of the 40-team tournament, where our team is located, must be played before the draw ceremony for the 12-team tournament, even though they have been temporarily moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The information shows that all teams participating in the 12-team tournament will be divided into six brackets based on the latest FIFA men's national team rankings, and then the 12 teams will be drawn evenly into two large groups, each including one team from each bracket. The top two teams in each group will qualify directly for the 2022 World Cup, while the third-placed team will advance through a replay, and will compete in a play-off against the other continental play-off teams for a place in the final stage.
Refund of tickets for the Suzhou race: no handling fee available until June 30th
After the Qatar World Qualifier Asian Zone Top 40 Group A remaining matches were confirmed to be held in a different location, China's Football Association communicated with the relevant departments of the Suzhou Municipal Government on the aftermath of the incident and announced a ticket refund plan on the evening of May 31st.
China's Football Association (CFA) said that since the World Qualifying Tournament matches will be transferred to Dubai, UAE, in order to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the spectators who have purchased tickets, China's CFA will provide a fee-free refund program for the spectators who have purchased tickets for the remaining three matches (including packages of tickets).
China Football Association confirmed the scope of ticket refund, that is, through the barley network purchased 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar & 2023 AFC Asian Cup in China joint qualifying phase II "June 3 China vs Maldives / June 9 China vs Philippines / June 15 China vs Syria match tickets (including packages)". Ticket buyers.
