By Tom Degun
January 9 – Football Federation Australia (FFA) have announced that the Olyroos football team for the London 2012 Olympic qualifying competition next month will be limited to three players per Hyundai A-League club.
Australia will be looking to ensure they make it to the 2012 Olympic football tournament at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Olympic qualification tournament in Tashkent, with the FFA putting the voluntary limit in place following extensive consultations with Hyundai A-League clubs affected by player call ups.
In the qualifiers, Australia are set to face Uzbekistan on February 5 before playing the United Arab Emirates in Al Ain on February 22, and the FFA national technical director Han Berger said the competition will be about trying to get Australia to the Olympic football tournament without harming the domestic league.
“The impact on the A-League clubs is something we always take into consideration when developing the under-age national teams programme,” said Berger.
“In this case, Aurelio Vidmar [the coach of the Australian Olympic football team] is confident he can select a very strong squad within the limits of using no more than three players per club.
“As a result, the A-League clubs can plan with some certainty for the period when the players will be away for these very important Olympic qualification matches.”
In addition, the travel plans for the Australian Olympic football team have been adjusted in the interests of player welfare.
This will enable A-League players selected for the February matches to play for their club in week 17 matches in late January before departing for Tashkent.
The provisional plan was for two separate trips away for the February matches, with the players returning to their A-League clubs in between.
“Having considered all the options, we believe the long haul flights should be minimised by having one trip away to take in the two matches,” added Berger.
“This is in the best interests of the players’ health and wellbeing, as well as the best interests of the clubs.
“The players will now be available for week 17 matches due to the slightly later departure for Tashkent and will return to their clubs in better condition because of the reduced travel.
“The new travel plans don’t extend the time the players are away from their clubs, it just makes the trip in one block of days rather than two separate blocks.
“I would like to thank all the A-League coaches and football directors involved in this planning.
“The logistics are never easy in these circumstances, but I believe we now have the best outcome possible for the players, the Olympic campaign and the A-League clubs.”
Vidmar is expected to name his 18-player squad on January 16, while the FFA are continuing to talk with European and Asian clubs about the release of eligible Australian players.
The AFC Asian qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympic Games are not scheduled on FIFA dates reserved for international fixtures meaning that overseas clubs are under no formal obligation to release players.
Australia first competed in the Olympic football tournament at the Melbourne 1956 Olympics and following a 32 year absence from the event, they have competed in every Olympic football tournament to date since the Seoul 1988 Olympics.
The team’s best finish came at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics when they came fourth, while they were eliminated in the group stage Beijing in 2008.
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