All Whites cancel Belgium clash

New Zealand Football have cancelled the friendly with Belgium.

The match was scheduled to take place on October 8th in Brussels.

“We are incredibly disappointed to be in this position but from the outset our first priority was our players”, said NZF CEO Andrew Pragnell.

Unsurprisingly the reason is the worldwide Coronavirus outbreak.

“As it currently stands we aren’t able to get enough of our team to the game and back to their respective countries without major disruptions to their domestic seasons.”

“We knew when agreeing this fixture that the impact of COVID-19 was fluid but with a number of our squad unable to travel due to COVID restrictions, or having to go through significant quarantine on their return home, it became unfeasible. It would have taken them out of contention for their club sides and impacted on their long-term development as players and their careers,” Pragnell said.

Pragnell says they are continuing to monitor the situation around future games, most pressingly the friendly against England at Wembley, scheduled for November 11th.