“I was told it was an isolated incident unrelated to soccer”
Announcing that “today’s opening match will go ahead as planned”
Despite a shooting in New Zealand ahead of the start of the Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) says the tournament will go ahead as planned.
“We have been informed that this is an isolated incident unrelated to soccer,” FIFA said in a statement on its social media accounts on Tuesday, adding that today’s opening match will go ahead as planned.
Events that bring together spectators and soccer fans will also remain unchanged, the federation said. “The Fifa Fan Festival events will also take place as scheduled,” the organization said.
However, the federation said it would offer assistance to teams playing matches close to the location of the incident. “Teams playing in close proximity to where the incident occurred will receive assistance,” the federation explained.
Following the incident, Fifa president Gianni Infantino and others consulted with New Zealand authorities and are in constant contact with World Cup participants, the federation said.
Earlier in the day, a building shooting in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, killed three people, including the gunman, and wounded six others. 스포츠토토 The gunman was reportedly using a pump-action shotgun and fired from multiple locations in the building.