SAFA yet to decide on Turkey trip following earthquake

This came after the deadly earthquake in the week that claimed the lives of over 24 000 people, while thousands remain missing and others displaced in Turkey and neighbouring Syria.

In a statement, SAFA said FIFA had given the go-ahead for the tournament in Alanya, Turkey, in a letter to all participants on 10 February 2023.

The participating teams are Bulgaria, Estonia, Kosovo, Hong Kong, Jordan, North Macedonia, Slovenia, South Africa, Uzbekistan and Zambia.

In accordance with article 7 of the regulations, Fifa is happy to provide official authorization for this women’s tier 1 international tournament. Should you need to make any subsequent changes to the match details, please immediately contact Fifa,” part of the letter said.

Safa maintained, "while the tournament is going ahead, the safety of our players and officials is very important to us and Safa has continued to carry out its mandate in a mature and responsible manner.

"We have engaged extensively and had discussions with the Director for Member Associations, in particular the European MA manager. We engaged our own government as well as the Turkish Ambassador.

"We consulted the organisers of the Turkish Women’s Cup a number of times and also had discussions with Zambia, who are our neighbours and one of the participants in the Turkish Women’s Cup."