Football Ferns matches against Panama cancelled after earthquake

The Football Ferns are safe and well and looking to get out of Panama as soon as possible after both their matches in the central American nation were cancelled in the wake of a powerful earthquake that struck there on Saturday (NZT).The quake measured a magnitude 7.7. Some buildings were damaged but there have been no reports of any casualties.The first game was to be played in Panama City at Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez this morning (Sunday NZT).It was cancelled before kickoff, but New Zealand Football has since announced that the second match, which had been scheduled for Wednesday (NZT), has also been called off.Football Ferns coach Michael Mayne said players and staff were in a team meeting when the earthquake struck."First and foremost we want to acknowledge the people most impacted by the earthquake and hope they are safe and well," he said in a video message."We are safe and well, we are working right now on how to get our people out of Panama and where they can be safe again and get back to work as we continue to build towards Brazil.Football Ferns head coach Michael Mayne.PhotosportThe Women's Football World Cup is in Brazil next year and the two internationals against Panama were part of the Ferns' lead-up to the cup."(In) the last 24 hours we have had to navigate very carefully and make important decisions for the players and staff of both teams."Panama's football federation and NZF management back in New Zealand had been very supportive leading up to the decision to cancel both games."I want to acknowledge the players and staff for the way they have navigated the last 24 hours, their patience and professionalism in a very tricky situation," Mayne said."I am super proud as a coach of this team with how they stayed connected, supported each other but also made sure that we could made some robust decisions as a team to look after our people," he said."We have four or five very good days on the ground, training-wise we were really looking forward to the match that was meant to be played today but obviously the team's safety and wellbeing is the obvious priority for me as a coach."