Socceroos coach Graham Arnold seeks government help to play home World Cup qualifiers in 2021

FIFA ruled last year that clubs could block players from leaving for international duty if they were are due to play in a country with an enforced quarantine period of five days or more. Football Australia expects that rule will apply again in 2021, making it impossible for Arnold to call upon star players like Mathew Ryan, Aaron Mooy and Awer Mabil, who play for clubs in Europe and Asia.

In anticipation of exemptions being denied in March, Football Australia’s contingency plan is to postpone the Kuwait game until June.

The AFC has added another week to the June international window, when the Socceroos are due to play two more home games against Chinese Taipei and Jordan. The federation is warming to the idea of adding Kuwait as a third and brokering a deal with a state government to play them all in one region.

With the Matildas also expected to be in Australia at the same time to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, that month could bring a feast of international football for action-starved fans.

By then, Football Australia is hopeful that vaccine distribution will make it easier to gain the necessary approvals for teams to enter and exit the country, with nine of their next 14 World Cup qualifiers on the road to Qatar 2022 due to be played on home soil.

The only other alternative, which Arnold is desperate to avoid, is being forced to play all those home games in a neutral country.

Arnold said football was “unique” in Australian sport because in other codes like cricket, rugby league and rugby union, almost all national team players live here – but the vast majority of Socceroos and Matildas players ply their trade at overseas clubs.

“Our players live overseas, play overseas, and we would like to work with government to find a way to get them back into the country for them to be able to represent Australia,” Arnold said.

“We don’t want to have to host our home games in neutral territories. Home games are important, not only for the players – who haven’t been able to play in front of fans, family or friends – but for the supporters and for the brand of the Socceroos and Matildas.

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“We are going to need the government’s help to make this happen and help us get to the World Cup. We know how big World Cup qualification is. We need to work together and see if we can make it work.”

It’s been 430 days since the Socceroos’ last match away to Jordan in November 2019. By the start of March, it will be the longest break between games for the national team since 1964 – a year after Australia was re-admitted to FIFA following a five-year suspension from the world governing body.

Top of Group B after four wins from four qualifiers in 2019, the Socceroos are close to sealing their spot in the next stage of the process, which will begin later this year.