U.S. Soccer has found a new opponent for its World Cup-winning women's national team after Haiti agreed to replace Australia for next week's two-game series. U.S. Soccer announced Haiti as the new opponent late Thursday evening. Original opponent Australia withdrew from the matches after a pay dispute between Football Federation Australia and the players union, Professional Footballers Australia, forced the Matildas players to boycott the games. However, the games, which will take place in Detroit on Sept. 17 and Birmingham, Ala. three days later, will go ahead as scheduled, according to U.S. Soccer. "Australia confirmed they will not travel to the U.S. to participate in the two matches," said Neil Buethe, U.S. Soccer's director of communications. "But that does not mean that the games are canceled." Becoming aware of the Australian team's possible boycott several days ago, U.S. Soccer started reaching out to other federations to find a replacement for both matches.
NO EASY TASK: Replacing the Matildas team, which reached the quarterfinals during this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, was no easy task for the national governing body considering the short amount of time and ongoing domestic league competitions in other countries. The federation initially reached out to CONCACAF teams, but was open to all available opponents, Buethe said. U.S. Soccer is currently not offering a refund to ticket holders who expected a matchup with Australia, but is discussing the matter internally, he added. The two games, which according to Australian media reports were sold out, could have financial ramifications for U.S. Soccer as Haiti, a lower-quality opponent might draw smaller crowds, than the Matildas. U.S. Soccer declined to discuss the financial impact of Australia's withdrawal.
