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Aaron Gillions/Photosport
Darren Bazeley will coach the New Zealand under-23 side at the OFC Olympic qualifiers.
New Zealand have been left without an opponent for the opening game of the OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifiers on Sunday.
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) issued a media release on Saturday, stating that the Papua New Guinea squad for the tournament in Auckland have been unable to travel to New Zealand.
“Papua New Guinea are due to play in the opening match of the tournament at 3pm on Sunday August 27 2023 against New Zealand at Go Media Mt Smart Stadium,” the release said.
“The match will not take place.
“As per Fifa regulations for the Preliminary Competitions of the Olympic Football Tournaments Games of the XXXIII Olympiad Paris 2024, the matter will be referred to the relevant FIFA judicial bodies.”
Papua New Guinea were scheduled to be part of the seven-team tournament for under-23 teams designed to find the Oceania qualifier for next year’s Paris Olympics.
STUFF
All Whites want to be an attack-minded team, says interim coach Darren Bazeley.
They were in a group with New Zealand and Fiji.
The top two teams in group A were to advance to semifinals against the top two from group B, featuring Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, on September 6, with the final to on September 9.
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