High winds and heavy rain from Cyclone Atu, a category 4 storm, meant the Port Vila airport remained closed last night when Vanuatu were due to board their rescheduled flight to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifier.
OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas was left in the difficult position of informing Vanuatu Football Federation and the other participating teams Fiji, Solomon Islands and Tahiti that the tournament must continue without the inclusion of Vanuatu.
“We sincerely regret this situation caused by the cyclone,” said Nicholas.
“OFC has exhausted every possibility including sending the team via Brisbane, Noumea and Auckland but with the closure of the airport, and with the other teams having already arrived at the weekend, it is unfortunately too difficult to delay the tournament any further.”
“This again highlights one of the unique challenges we face in Oceania with vast distances between our member associations. Our thoughts go out to the Vanuatu team who have prepared hard for this tournament but in the greater scheme of things we are also thankful they have stayed safe during this cyclone.”
An OFC delegation met with the Local Organising Committee at Fédération Tahitienne de Football headquarters this morning to make the necessary arrangements and amend the match schedule accordingly.
The championship will still kick off on Wednesday and conclude on Saturday, as per the delayed schedule, but now with only one match per day.
The winner of the tournament will go on to represent Oceania at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, set to be held in Ravenna, Italy during September.
The revised schedule is as follows:
Wednesday 23 February
12:30pm
Solomon Islands vs. Fiji
Thursday 24 February
12:30pm
Tahiti vs. Fiji
Friday 25 February
12:30pm
Tahiti vs. Solomon Islands
Saturday 26 February
12:30pm
FINAL 1st vs. 2nd
For the full squad lists click here
For the full match schedule click here