June 21, (THEWILL)- As much as the coronavirus pandemic that flat-lined all sporting activities across the world for an extended period last year has abated in many areas of the globe, there are still some places dealing with the scourge and having to put restrictions in place to avoid another wave or spike in infection cases.
On Monday FIFA had to act decisively when the coronavirus showed up again among the delegation of South Sudan after an official confirmation of COVID-19 cases in their camp.
This came from positive tests results ahead of the FIFA Arab Cup qualifiers fixture between South Sudan and Jordan. As a consequence, the FIFA Bureau for Men’s Senior Tournaments declared the match forfeited with a 3-0 win to Jordan awarded instead.
It was a decision following article 5.6 of the competition regulations (“force majeure”) which is supposed to take into consideration the prioritisation of the players and everyone involved in the tournament as a whole, of which the qualifiers are a key component.
It happened that upon the South Sudanese team’s arrival in Qatar, all delegations were tested for COVID-19 as per the protocols established by the Qatari Ministry of Health and judiciously adhered to.
When two rounds of PCR tests confirmed seven players and one team member of South Sudan were positive and another five players received a reactive test result, which implied that they were likely incubating the virus, FIFA had to act.
This was more so due to the fact that another seven players had close contact with those who tested positive, which meant that in all 19 players needed to go into self isolation.
Although there were no cases presenting severe symptoms and everyone who tested positive was being monitored and receiving the best possible medical care for free through the Qatar national healthcare system, there was a need to preserve the health of others and keep to the regulations.
After handing down the forfeiture, FIFA said they and the local organisers deeply regretted this unfortunate situation while wishing the delegates of South Sudan a speedy recovery and good health. All tickets for the tie were going to be refunded in full.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
