Recently, regarding the report that the Syrian Football Association complained about the interference of our Federation in obtaining visas for their players to compete in China, our Federation responded clearly that they are working tirelessly and actively to reconcile all parties in order to resolve the visa difficulties for the four teams to compete in China.
The remaining matches in Group A of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifying Round 40 will be held from May 30 to June 15 in Suzhou, China, where our men's football team will face Guam, Maldives, the Philippines and Syria in quick succession. Both the Chinese Football Association and the organizing committee of the tournament have emphasized that ensuring the safety of the tournament against epidemics is the top priority.
All participants in the Top 40 tournament must strictly comply with our anti-epidemic regulations when entering the country. Participating teams and international referees are required to provide certificates of passing nucleic acid tests and antibody tests within a specified period of time prior to departure, and will be allowed to enter the country only after obtaining a health green code. All participants will enter the country from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, and after entering the country, they will have to undergo an anti-epidemic test at the airport and be observed for one day in a designated quarantine hotel in Shanghai. Only those who pass the test results will be transferred to the designated hotel in Suzhou by the organizing committee through the "point-to-point closed-loop" mode. The Organizing Committee has set up the Suzhou hotel as a strict quarantine area ("Red Zone"), and all incoming participants will be included in the management of the "Red Zone". At the same time, there were also "Red Zones" in the competition stadium and training ground for the use of participants in the official hotels.
Sources revealed that there are indeed several Syrian international players who failed to obtain visas to China, and they must return to Syria before May 22 to apply for visas. In this regard, the foreign affairs official of our Football Association who is responsible for the visa issue said that our Football Association has done its best to coordinate all parties and make every effort to assist the four visiting teams to solve the visa issue. At the same time, the Football Association maintains close communication with the AFC and the four teams, and Syria did not raise the visa issue at the meeting of the teams convened by the AFC.
In view of the different epidemic prevention and control situations in different countries and regions, and the differences in visa policies, China's Football Association has continued to actively communicate with China's embassies and consulates in the local area to strive to provide maximum assistance, including expedited visa services, to ensure that athletes, staff and referees of the four visiting teams can obtain visas in a timely manner.
