After causing panic in China in particular, and the world in general, the Coronavirus continued its impact on sports competitions, as the AFC was forced to postpone the Asian Cup in the halls in Turkmenistan to a date to be determined.
The Continental Federation circulated to the member associations the postponement statement, which a copy of which was obtained by “France Press”, and stated: “In light of the current situation as a result of the outbreak of the Coruna virus, please note that after discussing the developments with all parties concerned to ensure the safety of all, the AFC Football decided to postpone the AFC Futsal Championship in Turkmenistan until further notice. ”
“The AFC will closely monitor the situation, and the new dates will be announced once the situation stabilizes,” the statement continued. The tournament was scheduled in Ashgabat between February 26 and the eighth of next March.
Sixteen teams divided into 4 groups will participate in the tournament, the first includes Oman, Vietnam, and Tajikistan, as well as host Turkmenistan, and second Lebanon, Kuwait, Japan, and Kyrgyzstan, while the third includes Bahrain with Uzbekistan, China and Indonesia, and the fourth, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and South Korea with the defending Iran.
The top five in the tournament qualify for the World Cup finals scheduled in Lithuania next September.
AFC competitions have previously been affected by the emerging Coronavirus, the latest of which was the postponement of two Champions League games scheduled in Perth and Sydney, due to the travel ban.
The Australian government announced, on Saturday, that it will not allow entry into its territory of all non-citizens coming from China, in the context of measures taken to combat this epidemic.
Perth Glory was scheduled to play with his Chinese guest Shanghai Xinhua on February 11, and Sydney FC with his guest Shanghai SIPG the next day, but the Australian Football Confederation confirmed that it had informed its Asian counterpart that “it will not be possible to hold the matches of the first round of the AFC Champions League In Australia as scheduled. ”
The Confederation had announced a week before that the matches of the Chinese clubs scheduled to be held at home in February and March as part of the AFC Champions League group stage matches will be transferred out of the country, and will be played as out-of-home matches due to the Coronavirus that has hit China for weeks.
A statement on the Al-Ittihad website said that the decision was taken after consultations with the Chinese Federation for the game “as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and health of the participating players and clubs.”
So far, the virus has killed more than 360 people in China and infected more than 17,000.
