AFC World Cup qualifiers face postponement

Tehran Times – TEHRAN, FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) met at the Home of FIFA to discuss football activities in Asia and considered to postpone upcoming World Cup qualifiers over the novel coronavirus.

“For both FIFA and the AFC, the well-being and health of all individuals involved in football matches remains the highest priority, and as such, a formal proposal to postpone upcoming matches in the Asian FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers will now be shared with the relevant member associations,” the FIFA statement said.

“FIFA and the AFC will provide an update on these fixtures in the coming days following consultation with the AFC member associations.”

The women’s Olympic playoff between China and South Korea, both hard-hit by the virus, is also up for discussion, as well as the AFC Futsal Championship in Turkmenistan.

Asia’s next qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup are scheduled for March 26 and 31. The women’s Olympic playoff, already postponed once, is set for April 9 and 14 and the futsal championship is due to start on February 26.

FIFA will continue to monitor the situation in relation to COVID-19 in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), the confederations and the member associations. Information on other international matches may be provided by the relevant confederation or member association.