Australia calls for higher age limit at 2021 Olympics football

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SYDNEY, March 26, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Australia called Thursday for men’s
football at the postponed Tokyo Olympics to be changed from an Under-23
tournament to Under-24 so all players who helped their teams qualify can
compete.

“We would like to open up discussion with FIFA and the Asian Football
Confederation (AFC) to consider adjusting the men’s football tournament so
that it becomes an U24 tournament for the Tokyo Olympic Games,” Football
Federation of Australia CEO James Johnson said.

The decision to move the Tokyo Games from this July to July 2021 due to the
coronavirus pandemic has raised concerns across the sporting world that some
Olympic hopefuls might not be able to participate due to age restrictions, or
simply because they lose form or fitness.

Shifting football to an U24 format “would ensure the players who helped
their nation qualify for the Games this year… have an opportunity to fulfil
their dreams of representing their country and becoming Olympians”, Johnson
said in a statement.

Australia, like many countries, have been building up to the Olympics for
years, with national team coach Graham Arnold also put in charge of the U23s
when he was appointed in 2018.