The AFC Champions League was halted in March itself as many countries imposed lockdown to curb the rise of the novel coronavirus.
AFC. (Photo: Twitter/@theafcdotcom)
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Tuesday postponed all its fixtures, which were scheduled for May and June, for an indefinite period of time due to the concurrent situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AFC Champions League was halted in March itself as many countries imposed lockdown to curb the rise of the novel coronavirus. The latest reshuffle means the 32-team group stage will have to be completed in July before the already-postponed knock-out rounds start a month later.
“Following the continued preventive measures and travel restrictions put in place by several governments, the Asian Football Confederation has decided today to postpone all matches and competitions scheduled to take place in May and June until further notice,” an AFC statement said.
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“Following the continued preventive measures and travel restrictions put in place by several governments, the Asian Football Confederation has decided today to postpone all matches and competitions scheduled to take place in May and June until further notice,” an AFC statement said.
The extended shutdown will also affect the two-legged women’s Olympic qualifier matches between China and South Korea which were earlier postponed to June 1 and 9.
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the sporting calendars across the world with football being the worst-hit. All major leagues and tournaments across the world, including the top five European leagues and the UEFA Champions League, have come to a standstill.
The Euro 2020 and the Copa America 2020, which were scheduled to be played in this year’s summer, have now been postponed due to the global crisis caused by the novel coronavirus which has already affected over 1.8 million people and killed more than 1,13,000 people.
Meanwhile, the ongoing situation caused by the novel coronavirus forced football’s international governing body to postpone the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup which was supposed to be held in India in November.
With inputs from AFP via PTI
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