The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) can confirm the Ninja A-League Round 5 fixture between Canberra United and Sydney FC scheduled for Saturday November 29 has been postponed.
The APL has been liaising with both clubs over the last week, with Sydney FC requesting the match be rescheduled following further assessment of players’ injuries from the weekend and the confirmation of an additional player called up to international duty.
As per the APL fixture policy, a match can be rescheduled if four players or more are called up from a club to a senior international squad or junior national team training camp. Since the latest squad updates, Sydney FC now has seven players out on international duty with (Riley) Tanner (Panama) and (Madeleine) Caspers, (Milly) Cassar, (Sofia) Fante, (Skye) Halmarick, (Rubi) Sullivan and (Caley) Tallon-Henniker called into the CommBank Young Matildas camp.
Similarly, Canberra have had (Michelle) Heyman (Matildas), (Liz) Anton (New Zealand) and (Tegan) Bertolissio (Young Matildas) called up for international duty, and while this doesn’t meet the threshold, United has given the green light for the match to be moved.
Three other Ninja A-League fixtures originally scheduled for this weekend have also been rescheduled due to international call ups across the league. Melbourne Victory’s home match against Perth Glory on Sunday November 30 will be the only match this weekend, with a full round of the Ninja A-League scheduled for next weekend.
“With the AFC Women’s Asian Cup taking place in the middle of our season, we had initially scheduled to play up to five matches during this window to avoid fixture congestion and mid-week matches later in the season. We’ve since rescheduled four of these matches in line with our fixture policy, and requests and approval from participating clubs.”
“While we never like moving fixtures at late notice, it’s fantastic to see more and more players from our league being called up to national teams and junior training camps, including Young Matildas, as our stars continue to make an impression on the international stage,“ Stephen Conroy, APL Executive Chairman.
The APL is working with both Canberra United and Sydney FC, along with relevant partners, and will confirm the new time for the rescheduled match in the coming days.
