Auckland withdraw from Club World Cup over quarantine

LAUSANNE: Auckland have withdrawn from next month’s Club World Cup, tournament organiser FIFA has announced.

The club informed FIFA it would not be travelling to Qatar for the competition, which brings together the winners of each continent’s major club tournament plus the host nation’s national champions.

The decision was taken because of the strict quarantine measures in place in New Zealand to limit the spread of coronavirus, FIFA said.

“Despite FIFA’s regular exchanges with the club, New Zealand Football and the OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) in recent days, the requirements of the New Zealand authorities in relation to isolation and quarantine go beyond FIFA’s remit and, therefore, it was not possible to reach a solution,” a statement from the world governing body read.

“FIFA together with the Qatari authorities, will implement a comprehensive medical and security protocol providing the safeguards required to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in the competition.” Champions League holders Bayern Munich will be Europe’s representatives. The other competing teams are Al Ahly (Africa), Al Duhail (Qatar), Ulsan Hyundai (Asia), Tigres UANL (North and Central America) plus the winners of South America’s Libertadores Cup, which concludes on January 30.

The 2020 Club World Cup was pushed back from its traditional slot just before Christmas to February of this year to allow continental club competitions affected by the coronavirus pandemic to be completed.