The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has announced that Papua New Guinea will relinquish their place at the men's Olympic qualification tournament which starts tomorrow.
OFC said the tournament opener at Mt Smart Stadium between Papua New Guinea and the OlyWhites tomorrow now won't go ahead.
It comes as Papua New Guinea was unable to secure visas in time before travelling to Auckland.
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.
It's a relief for Olywhites coach Darren Bazeley who had to plan for the match without their five Wellington Phoenix players for the under 23 tournament opener, as the A-League club had asked to hold on to to them for tomorrow's Australia Cup match against Melbourne City.
New Zealand are aiming to qualify for the next year's Paris Olympics and build on their run into the quarter-finals at Tokyo 2020.
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