The Qatar Football Association have moved Tuesday’s international against New Zealand to a 5,000-capacity stadium about 100km outside of Vienna.
The match between Qatar and the All Whites was originally scheduled to take place at the 15,000-capacity Generali Arena in south Vienna.
Instead, the match will be played at Sonnensee Stadium in the town of Ritzing, which has a population of fewer than 900.
That original venue, the home ground of FK Austria Wien since 1973, has often been used to host international games.
The replacement venue is the home ground for SC Ritzing.
The Sonnensee Stadium has hosted big games before, notably a 2008 fixture between a regional rep team and English club Arsenal who beat the locals 10-2 after scoring seven first-half goals.
Asked about the venue switch, All White Liberato Cacace said: “It’s Qatar’s fixture so it’s on them, but we’ve dealt with it in the past, and most of the boys have experienced it, so we’ll be fine and we’ll take everything that comes at us.”
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Fixture
Game to be played on Tuesday June 20, 2023
Qatar v All Whites
Sonnensee Stadium, Ritzing, 4am (NZT)
Where the All Whites will play Qatar
Original venue
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