The Government of India has granted exemption from institutional quarantine to all the participating teams and officials of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup as they will move from one bio-secure bubble to another, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) said on Saturday.
The decision came after India on Friday revised its travel guideline for international passengers, making seven-day home quarantine a must from January 11 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The AFC Women’s Asian Cup is scheduled to be held in India at three venues — Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune — from January 20 to February 6.
According to AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das, who is a member of the LOC, all the participating teams will have to stay put inside their respective team hotels, which are inside a bio-bubble, till their arrival test results come out negative.
“The teams are arriving from the safe environment of a bio-secure bubble to play in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 and upon arrival in India, will be transferred within a bio-secure bubble, where they will operate throughout the duration of their stay,” Das told PTI.
“All arriving members will be put into quarantine till the initial test results are out. Following negative results, their movements will be restricted only to trainings and matches.
“Given what is essentially a bubble to bubble transfer, the Central Government, Health Ministry and Maharashtra Government, who have all been closely monitoring developments, have granted an exemption from any institutional quarantine to the participating teams and officials,” he added.
A total of 12 teams — hosts India, defending champions Japan, Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, South Korea, Philippines, Iran and Thailand — will vie for top honours in the upcoming edition of the continent’s premier women’s football tournament.
As per the current protocol, upon landing in India all the teams will immediately proceed to their respective hotels which is a bio-secure bubble. All the members of the squads will be confined to their rooms till their test result on arrival comes.
All the foreign teams are arriving a week before their opening matches.
“We have been in constant dialogue with the Central Government, Health Ministry and Maharashtra Government with regards to the evolving situation in both, the country and the state,” Das said.
India’s best results in the tournament have been two runner-up finishes in the 1979 and 1983 editions.
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