The upcoming Asian World Cup 2022 and Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers are postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) are to propose the same.
The next Asian qualifiers for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 which were due to be staged on the final week of this month are now set to be called off.
An update on the fixtures will follow “in the coming days” after consultation with AFC member associations, A FIFA statement released on Thursday revealed so.
The next batch of Asian Cup qualifiers were also scheduled to be held this month end but it unlikely that games will be held in the month of March due to pandemic breakout of COVID-19. The Asian Cup qualifiers are also expected to be postponed due to coronavirus which originated and broke out in Wuhan district of China which has killed approximately around 3000 people all around the world.
A FIFA statement read,
“FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) met at the Home of FIFA to discuss football activities in Asia.”
The FIFA statement also read that the well being and the health of the individuals associated with the game of football remains the priority of the next level. They also said that a formal proposal will be submitted on a table to postpone the upcoming matches of qualifiers of AFC Asian Cup 2023 and FIFA World Cup qualifiers of Asia.
“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 statement also has the details regarding the rescheduling of these crucial fixtures. The statement said that FIFA is closely working with AFC with respect to updating the games for the qualifiers.
“FIFA and the AFC will provide an update on these fixtures in the coming days following consultation with the AFC member associations.
“FIFA will continue to monitor the situation in relation to COVID-19 in cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the confederations and the member associations.
“Information on other international matches may be provided by the relevant confederation or member association.”
On the other hand, this is not the first case where games are getting postponed because of COVID-19 or coronavirus. In Italy, the third tier (Serie C) players have got infected and the games are postponed in the Serie A. Also, the talks are going to decide whether the games are to be held in the stadium or behind the closed doors.
