Football Federation Australia (FFA) is disappointed to announce that they recently received correspondence from the German Bundesliga club, Borussia Mönchengladbach.....
Football Federation Australia (FFA) is disappointed to announce that they recently received correspondence from the German Bundesliga club, Borussia Mönchengladbach, advising that, even though a previous agreement had been made to release Mathew Leckie for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, they would no longer be releasing Mathew to travel to Colombia.
FFA National Technical Director Han Berger, who is also the Head of Delegation for the Qantas Young Socceroos at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, was bitterly disappointed by the recent turn of events.
“Last week we received a letter from Borussia Mönchengladbach agreeing to release Mathew Leckie for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2011.
“To minimise the impact on his club we also made the concession that Mathew was not required for the pre-tournament training camp in Denver and he could meet the squad in Colombia next week.
“This week, we received further correspondence from Borussia Mönchengladbach advising that they would now no longer be releasing Mathew for the tournament.
“After receiving this information, we made further attempts to ask the club to reconsider their position, but to no avail.
“We believe that this change in attitude by Borussia Mönchengladbach is not in the spirit of Fair Play and we will voice our dissatisfaction with FIFA accordingly,” concluded Berger.
Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Jan Versleijen was also very disappointed by Borussia Mönchengladbach‘s decision to prevent Mathew Leckie from joining his squad in Colombia.
“Mathew is a very important member of this playing group and it-s very disappointing for the team that he will not be joining us in Colombia,” said Versleijen
“A World Cup is a very special event in a footballer-s career and to miss out on representing your country under these circumstances is extremely regrettable.
“I advised the players and staff today of the situation, and although we are all very frustrated, we will not let this inconvenience derail our campaign to perform at our best at the FIFA U-20 World Cup,” concluded Versleijen.
The Qantas Young Socceroos are currently in Denver, Colorado for a training camp and will travel early next week to the Colombian city of Manizales, situated 2,180m above sea-level, where they will be based for the first phase of the tournament.
The Qantas Young Socceroos will play their first match of the tournament against Ecuador on Sunday 31 July, and then face Costa Rica on Wednesday 3 August before their final group match against Spain on Saturday 6 August.
The top two teams from each of the groups and the four third placed teams with the highest number of points will then progress to the round of 16 (9 & 10 August). The Quarter-Finals will be played on 13 & 14 August, Semi-Finals on 17 August with the Final and 3rd/4th place play-off on Saturday 20 August.
The Qantas Young Socceroos qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup having made the final of the AFC U19 Youth Championships in Zibo, China last year.
The Qantas Young Socceroos matches and the Semi-Finals and Final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2011 will be broadcast live on SBS TV.