Shepparton must wait until August for international soccer fix

By Aydin Payne

Jan 27, 2021

The Asian Football Confederation has postponed the upcoming AFC under-20 women's Asian Cup 2022 qualifiers which were slated for Shepparton in March.

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Fans of the world game in the Goulburn Valley will now have to wait until mid-year to witness the Young Matildas and their opponents in action.

On Monday, the AFC decided to push back round one of the qualifiers to August 14-22, 2021.

The governing body opted to delay the qualifiers due to the need to safeguard the interests of stakeholders as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

“We are grateful for the support of the hosts for these competitions who agreed with the AFC the need to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders during this time of uncertainty and taking into consideration the risks of the current pandemic,” AFC general secretary Dato Windsor John said.

Round one of the cup qualifiers were scheduled to be contested at McEwen Reserve from March 13-21.

City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Kim O'Keeffe said council supported the call to postpone the international event.

“Council will work closely with Football Australia and Asian Football Confederation to ensure the qualifiers can go ahead in a safe environment without compromising the health and safety of the local community,” she said.“We are fully supportive of the Asian Football Confederation’s decision to postpone the matches until such time that it has been deemed safe to stage them.”

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By Aydin Payne

Sports Editor