KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 — FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation are looking into postponing the second round of the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup Joint Qualifiers campaign due to the worldwide impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) met at the Home of FIFA to discuss football activities in 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,” FIFA said in a statement Thursday.
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FIFA and the AFC will provide an update on these fixtures in the coming days following consultations with the AFC member associations, the statement said.
Harimau Malaya under national head coach Tan Cheng Hoe’s charge are set to play the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Dubai on March 26 before hosting Vietnam at the National Stadium Bukit Jalil on March 31st in Group G of the qualifiers.
In the meantime, FIFA will continue to monitor the situation in relation to COVID-19 in cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the confederations and member associations, the statement added. – BERNAMA