Nicaragua and Guatemala were going to face each other this Wednesday, January 26 in Managua, however, this game corresponding to the January 2022 International Friendly Games was suspended. Find here all the information you need to know about the reasons why this game was suspended.
It would be a perfect opportunity to have activity for two national teams that are currently out of the Concacaf final octagonal, so they are not fighting for a place to go to the next World Cup in Qatar. However, a friendly match is always a good opportunity to prepare for the competitions to come.
This game would mark Luis Fernando Tena‘s debut as coach in Guatemala, which will obviously have to wait. It was planned that these two teams along with Belize would play a triangular. The Guatemalans would play this Wednesday, January 26, against Nicaragua, and then against Belize on Saturday, January 29. Both duels would be played at the National Stadium, in Managua.
What were the reasons given by Fedefut?
The Federation explained in a statement that: “Due to the health situation that currently prevails worldwide and the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic that is going through our region, coupled with the great inconvenience of the lack of availability of flights to Managua, both commercial and individuals, has made it impossible for the Guatemalan National Team to schedule and play the games already scheduled”.
Gerardo Paiz, president of Fedefut, explained on another website: “No flights to Nicaragua were found and a charter (private flight) cost more than 100 thousand dollars. Belize will travel to Honduras and then by land to Nicaragua, but Tena preferred not to do that so as not to ‘kill’ the players and out of respect for the clubs to which they belong”.