AFC responds to Chinese coronavirus by moving Champions League games from China

No games in China until April 7 but decision to be made later, AFC says day after Shanghai SIPG play behind closed doors

Women’s team set to play Tokyo 2020 qualifiers in Australia without Wuhan natives Wang Shuang and Yao Wei

Reading Time:2 minutes

China international Elkeson in action for Guangzhou Evergrande against Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds in the AFC Champions League 2019 semi-final second leg. Photo: EPA

Published: 4:46pm, 29 Jan 2020Updated: 10:49pm, 29 Jan 2020

The Asian Football Confederation has announced measures to combat the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, with Chinese clubs now to play away from home for the first three AFC Champions League games.

This year’s group stage gets under way on February 12 but Chinese Super League teams will not host games until April 7, at the earliest.

“After close consultation with the Chinese Football Association (CFA), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) can confirm that the home matches of the Chinese clubs in the AFC Champions League Group Stage on Match Day (MD) 1, 2 and 3 will be rescheduled to be played as away matches by swapping the match order with opponent clubs,” the AFC said.

“In the meantime, the AFC will closely monitor the situation before deciding further on the home matches of Chinese clubs on MD4, 5 and 6.” Match day four is scheduled for April 7.

“The decision, which was also made in conjunction with the competing clubs from the respective groups, is a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and well-being of all participating players and teams in view of the current coronavirus outbreak in the People’s Republic of China.”

Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG played their AFC Champions League play-off against Thailand’s Buriram United behind closed doors at Yuanshen Stadium on Tuesday. Both teams arrived at the ground wearing face masks, with video of that being widely shared on social media.