Virus forces Matildas’ Olympic qualifiers to move from China
The Matildas will play their Olympic qualifiers at home after Asian officials decided to move the games due to a deadly virus outbreak in China.
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The Matildas will play their vital Olympic qualifiers on home soil in Sydney, after the outbreak of a mystery virus forced China to withdraw as hosts for the games next week.
News broke late on Sunday night that China had bowed to the inevitable in saying it couldn’t host the games, as health authorities around the world grapple with the so-called coronavirus that began in the city of Wuhan but has spread across the country.
The Matildas had been due to play in Wuhan before their games were initially moved 550km to the city of Nanjing.
But with transport links in much of China frozen to try to halt the disease’s spread, and the death toll from the outbreak up to 56, Football Federation Australia has agreed to step in and host the games involving Australia, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and China.
Thanks to everyone @FFA for putting the teams safety first & getting this done in such a short time frame. Thoughts are with China! 🇨🇳ðŸ™ðŸ½ https://t.co/jgG61aerf8
— Sam Kerr (@samkerr1) January 26, 2020
The games are due to be played on February 3, 6 and 9, though so far there has been no indication of which stadium will host them.
Bankwest Stadium has a Rugby Sevens tournament on February 1 and 2, but Jubilee Oval in Kogarah has Sydney FC games on January 31 and February 8.
“FFA is happy and willing to organise this Olympic Qualification Tournament, and we look forward to hosting the women’s senior national teams from China PR, Thailand and Chinese Taipei in February,” said FFA chairman Chris Nikou.
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“The safety of all players, officials and fans is of paramount importance to Football Federation Australia and the Asian Football Confederation, and we are confident we will host a successful tournament here in Sydney.
“I would also like to acknowledge the support of the Australian Government in enabling FFA to host this event at short notice.”
The top two teams in the group will face a home and away playoff against the top two from another group, with the winners of the playoffs joining hosts Japan as Asia’s representatives at the Tokyo Olympics.
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A range of major domestic sporting events have been cancelled or postponed in China, strateching out as far as April.
The Hong Kong Football Association cancelled this Sunday’s Lunar New Year Cup football game in a last-minute decision.
The 2020 spring season of China’s League of Legends Pro League, a widely played electronic sports game at both amateur and professional levels, has been postponed indefinitely.