Domestic football at all levels in China postponed amid Coronavirus outbreak

The Chinese Super League (CSL) and all other levels of domestic football in China have been postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak in the country.

This is effective from Thursday following the announcement by the Chinese Football Association’s (CFA), in order to help control the spread of the virus that has reportedly claimed more than 130 lives.

The country’s topflight CSL was scheduled to get underway on February 22, with Guangzhou Evergrande looking to defend their title.

“The Chinese Football Association will continue to maintain close communication with national authorities, determine the timing of each season’s events in combination with the actual development of the epidemic situation and make reasonable adjustments to the system, schedule, and scale of some events when necessary,” a statement read on Thursday.

Read Also: CORONAVIRUS: Stay away from China for now, govt tells Nigerians

“Relevant information will be released in time through the official channels of the CFA.

“On behalf of the majority of football workers across the country, the Chinese Football Association pays deep tribute to all medical workers and staff who are currently struggling in the frontline of epidemic prevention and control!”

This comes after the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing were also postponed until next year because of fears surrounding the spread of the coronavirus.

Other football matches have also been affected with the women’s football qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics involving Australia, Thailand and Chinese Taipei, which are due to be played at the beginning of February, moved away from China completely to Sydney.

They had originally been moved from Wuhan to Nanjing, but safety concerns led to the change.

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