Socceroos and Matildas put on GPS monitoring gadgets to play residence World Cup qualifiers in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia

The Socceroos and Matildas must wear tracking devices as part of Football Australia’s cunning plan to persuade state and federal governments to allow international games to be played at home this year despite a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

The Socceroos were due to play China in a home World Cup qualifier next week, but the country’s mandatory 14-day quarantine measures meant the game was moved to Doha. However, Football Australia is determined to bring back the remaining home qualifiers in Australia and has proposed some strict protocols for its national teams to do so.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, all gamers must wear Kinexon SafeZone GPS tracking devices in order to monitor their movements, facilitate contact tracing, and alert them when they are an unsafe distance from others.

Harry Souttar (Getty)

Similar devices have been used in the NFL and NBA to aid players and staff with training and playing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FA has also offered to set up nets to prevent stray footballs from sailing off the field into the crowd and coming into contact with them.

The Socceroos will play against Oman in October and Saudi Arabia in New South Wales in November and as vaccination rates go up and the state government promises more freedom once a certain number of the population is fully vaccinated, there is hope that these games will still take place can take place.

The Matildas play friendly games in Australia in October and the world champions in the USA in a one-on-one showdown in November.

“We will continue to work with the federal and state governments to host games in Australia for both the Socceroos and Matildas in the coming months, including the games scheduled and scheduled for October and November,” said Football-Australia- Chef James Johnson.

The Socceroos meet Japan in their World Cup qualification. (Getty)

“History shows that playing on home soil gives the Socceroos a key edge in qualifying for the FIFA World Cup – a four-year global event that unites the world and engages millions of Australians.

“While we had plans for our scheduled home game against China outside Australia on the 2nd, we are equally keen to continue dialogue with governments to bring the Socceroos and Matildas home this year.”

As part of the FA proposal, only vaccinated Socceroos and Matildas players and staff would be allowed to return to the Games in Australia, and rigorous testing and monitoring of their movements would take place two weeks before their arrival.

The Socceroos haven’t played in Australia in nearly two years and with a strong record at home, the success of their World Cup qualifying campaign is jeopardized by the move of those games abroad.

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