.jpg?quality=60&auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=1080)
Australia's players and members of the technical staff had raised security concerns over travelling to Jordan during this month's international break.
Football Australia confirmed today, Friday, that it had struck an agreement with its Jordanian counterpart to move the match between the two sides on Tuesday 17 November, originally set for Amman International Stadium in the Jordanian capital.
The decision followed a meeting between Martin Kogler, chief executive of Football Australia, and Farah Al-Badarneh, acting general secretary of the Jordanian federation. The Jordanian side agreed to the request to shift the encounter to Qatar, allowing the Australian national team to stay at its current training camp base in Doha rather than travel to Amman.
Several Australia players had voiced clear reservations about the trip to Jordan because of the security situation in the region.
Those concerns escalated. The Australian Professional Footballers' Association called for the match to be rescheduled or moved elsewhere after a large majority of the players refused to play in the Jordanian capital, according to the French newspaper "L'Équipe" .
Related Topics
Read also
Cucurella to the German fans: the referee is the one who erred, not me!
Former Liverpool star: Alexander-Arnold should move to Bayern Munich
Warnings from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade coincided with the players' unease. It advised citizens to reconsider the need to travel to Jordan, citing what it described as the unpredictability of the security situation and the presence of terrorist threats.
Football Australia, in turn, was keen to thank its Jordanian counterpart for accepting the switch. Kogler praised the flexibility the Jordanian side showed during the negotiations and said the dialogue between the two parties was marked by openness, respect and cooperation.
Kogler said, in remarks carried by the official website of Football Australia: "We are extremely grateful to the Jordan Football Association for accepting the relocation of the match. We recognise how much the Jordanian national team and its fans were looking forward to welcoming the Australian national team in Amman."
He added: "The dialogue with the Jordanian federation was open, respectful and cooperative throughout. They were wonderful hosts for us in Amman this week, and I would like to thank them for their professionalism and flexibility. We look forward to welcoming the Jordanian national team in Australia in the future."
His thanks also went to the two Australian embassies in Jordan and Qatar, and to the Qatar Football Association, for helping to smooth the procedures around the relocation.
Tony Popovic, the Australia manager, welcomed confirmation of his side's second fixture of the international break. He pointed to the importance of playing both matches against Qatar and Jordan given the limited time the players have to gather.
Popovic said: "It is great to confirm the holding of the second match during the international break against Jordan. We were always confident of reaching a positive outcome."
He added: "From the start our focus was on playing two matches, and the players are ready to face Qatar and Jordan. These two matches are extremely important, because the time available for us to work together is limited, especially after the rescheduling of the Asian Cup. This will be our last camp over the course of four months."
Australia play their first match against Qatar on Friday 13 November in Doha at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, before facing Jordan on Tuesday 17 November, also in the Qatari capital. The stadium and kick-off time will be announced later.
Both matches carry preparatory weight for the three national teams as they build towards upcoming fixtures. The Asian Cup, originally scheduled for January 2027 in Saudi Arabia, has been pushed back to December of the same year against the backdrop of the situation in the region.
