Song Duan of China competes for the ball with Ellie Carpenter of Australia during the Women's Olympic Football Tournament Qualifier between Australia and China at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney, Australia, February 13, 2020. /VCG
The Chinese Football Association has raised concerns over its women's Olympic qualification play-off against South Korea, which is to be held south of Seoul next month, as the widespread COVID-19 epidemic hit the country in the past few days.
The women's Olympic qualification playoff between China and South Korea was scheduled to be played over two legs, with the winner qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The first game was scheduled to take place at Yongin Citizens Sports Park in Yongin, which is to the south of Seoul. The second game, which was supposed to be a home leg for China, will now be played in a neutral venue in Sydney after discussions with all parties.
However, as COVID-19 epidemic is making havoc in South Korea in the past few days, Chinese football authorities asked the Asian Football Confederation to think twice about the location of the opening leg as well, suggesting it should also take place at a neutral ground.
So far, the COVID-19 epidemic has claimed seven lives in South Korea with 833 confirmed cases.
On Monday, South Korea's K League postponed the start of the new football season, which was scheduled to kick off this coming weekend, due to the spike in COVID-19 cases in the country.
Another highly-anticipated international event, the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships scheduled to take place from March 22 to 29 in Busan, is also at stake.
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