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Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President, has applauded Australia and Japan for clinching the Continent’s two spots at the Paris 2024 Olympics after the conclusion of the two-legged AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament – Asian Qualifiers Round 3 on Wednesday, February 28.
The Matildas defeated Uzbekistan 13-0 on aggregate after rallying past their Central Asian opponents 10-0 in the second leg at the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne on Wednesday, while Japan edged North Korea 2-1 at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo to secure their sixth Olympic Games qualification after both sides had battled to a goalless draw in the first leg.
The AFC President said: “Both Australia and Japan have dominated some of the biggest stages in women’s football in recent years and their qualification for the Paris Olympics reaffirms the indomitable spirit and dedication of everyone involved, so my heartfelt congratulations go to the players, the coaches, and the entire technical and backroom staff members.”
“The AFC’s Vision underlines our ambitions for Asian sides to shine on the world stage and nowhere is that determination more evident than with our women’s teams.”
“We must hail the undeniable efforts of Football Australia and the Japan Football Association and on behalf of the Asian football family, I would like to thank them for their continued commitment to women’s football and I wish their teams the very best of success as they prepare to shine again on the biggest international multi-sports arena.”
“At the same time, we must praise all our teams across the three stages of Qualifiers, which continue to grow in participation and our deep gratitude also goes to all our host Member Associations for their steadfast support to strengthen the women’s game.”
The 2024 showpiece in Paris, to be held from July 24 to August 10, will see Australia, whose best fourth-place performance came in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and Japan chase a top-two finish for the third time since the inaugural 1996 edition, with the Continent’s best silver medal campaigns coming from China and Japan in 1996 and 2012 respectively.
