Kiribati withdraws from football

The Kiribati men’s football team has withdrawn from competing in the football games of the SOL2023 Pacific Games in the next two weeks.

But they will send in their best athletes to compete in other sports.

Their withdrawal from men’s football means there will be only 12 countries competing in the soccer rounds: Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas.

Kiribati was initially drawn into Pool B with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. Their withdrawal resulted in a slight revision of the final fixtures by the Games Organizing Committee Scheduling Team and notifying functional areas to adjust, such as ticketing, transport, accommodation, catering, media, broadcasting, and ceremonies.

The Micronesian nation’s last appearance in men’s football was during the 2011 games in New Caledonia.

Football matches will commence on November 17th, and matches will be played at two venues: Lawson Tama and the Solomon Islands Football Federation’s (SIFF) Academy new soccer pitch.

Soccer enthusiasts who intend to buy their early bird tickets are advised to visit the ticketing sales team stationed in front of Our Telekom Point Cruz.