FIFA on Sunday welcomed the British government’s to allow fully vaccinated players the opportunity to represent their national team in the upcoming qualifying matches for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
A number of South American and African stars were not released by their clubs for the September international break as they would have had to spend 10 days quarantining in a government-mandated hotel on their return to England.
“FIFA welcomes the UK government’s decision to allow fully vaccinated players the opportunity to represent their countries in the upcoming qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup and return from a red-list country to bespoke quarantine conditions.” FIFA said in a statement.
“We have worked closely with the UK government, Football Association and Premier League to find a reasonable solution, in the interests of everyone, and we believe this is a much more desirable solution to the situation that players faced in September.” FIFA added.
FIFA believes this is a positive step in the right direction and appreciates the support and cooperation from all stakeholders in the game during a challenging period.
“We acknowledge this decision does not help every player and we remain committed to further improving the situation for upcoming windows and joining discussions to explain more about the many measures we are putting in place to reduce the risks of COVID transmission into the community as a result of player travel.” FIFA said.
“We encourage COVID-19 vaccinations and endorse the World Health Organization’s position: safe, fair, and equitable access is critical in all countries. Players should not receive priority access to vaccines.” world football’s governing body added.
