Adelaide given every chance to succeed

Football Federation Australia (FFA) today announced a change to the Hyundai A-League fixture to accommodate Adelaide United’s travel schedule for the Final of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.

Adelaide United made history for an Australian club team on Wednesday when they defeated Uzbek team, Bunyodkor Kuruvchi, 3-1 on aggregate over two semi-final matches to make it to the Final of the AFC Champions League against Gamba Osaka of Japan next month.

"All of us involved in football want Adelaide to succeed," said FFA CEO, Ben Buckley.

"Their success reflects well on football and on the quality of the A-League competition."

"With Adelaide’s place in the Final assured, we have worked with all the parties to give Adelaide the best possible chance of success in the Asian Champions League."

The fixture change will see the Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide match scheduled for Saturday November 8 moved to one week later on November 15, giving the ‘Reds’ an unfettered week of preparation between Asian Champions League games on November 5 and 12.

"The change gives the players the maximum recovery time to prepare for the biggest match of their club career."

Buckley said that if national coach, Pim Verbeek, selected any Central Coast Mariners or Adelaide United players in the Qantas Socceroos squad to play Bahrain for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 19 November, they will travel overnight to Bahrain on November 16 arriving two days before the game.

"We don’t want to deprive A-League players the opportunity to play for the Socceroos if selected.

"But the change does mean that if any Adelaide or Central Coast players are included in the Socceroos squad, the burden of travel will shift from the Asian Champions League Final to the FIFA World Cup qualifier."

Buckley said that the fixture change to accommodate the AFC Champions League should be viewed as a "one-off special case" because of Adelaide’s remarkable progress to the Final.

He confirmed that further fixture changes will be necessary to accommodate Adelaide’s participation in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan also. Adelaide has won the right to compete in the tournament, which comprises champion club teams from each FIFA region, regardless of whether they win the Final of the AFC Champions League.

"It was always the case that we would move fixtures for the FIFA Club World Cup as there are no FIFA breaks in December," Buckley said.

Buckley expressed his appreciation to the Central Coast Mariners and Fox Sports for the November fixture change.

"The change to the fixture would not be possible without their cooperation and willingness to be flexible.

"I would particularly like to thank the Executive Chairman of Central Coast Mariners, Lyall Gorman, the CEO, John McKay and the Head Coach, Lawrie McKinna.

"They understand the importance of the entire football family supporting Adelaide to perform to the best possible level for the Asian Champions League Final."

Buckley added that everyone in football wishes Adelaide well.

They have shown the way for every other A-League club, and I’m sure all clubs will be watching with pride.

"Getting to the Final is a fantastic achievement for Adelaide, it’s a great boost for football in Australia, and it’s more good news for Australia as football competes on the world stage," said Buckley.