CANBERRA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Football Federation Australia (FFA) on Thursday announced that it will not be proceeding with plans to assemble men's and women's national team squads in Europe next month "due to the ongoing and evolving risks associated with COVID-19."
In a statement posted on its official website on Thursday, FFA said it has undertaken scenario planning for numerous match and/or training camp options in Europe for both the Socceroos and Matildas to enable the players, together with their coaches and support staff, to assemble in the final FIFA window of 2020.
Plans for a Matildas' training camp in November will give opportunity for Tony Gustavsson, who was appointed as the 14th Head Coach of the team in September, to get to know his players and oversee a proposed camp in Europe.
As of late last week, plans for the Socceroos to play two international friendly matches in London next month were well advanced, and were close to being announced, according to FFA.
"Regrettably, the ongoing and worsening COVID-19 landscape across Europe has provided complexities and risks to assemble players from across Europe and Asia and, following the latest advice from medical professionals, FFA will not be proceeding with activities in Europe at this time," the governing body said.
The Socceroos is currently ranked 41st on the latest FIFA ranking table, and are placed fourth among AFC (Asian Football Confederation) teams.
The Matildas, who has seized qualification for Tokyo Olympics, is ranked seventh in the world and lead the AFC teams in the rankings. Enditem
