February 3 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has called an emergency meeting of all its stakeholders – member associations, leagues, clubs and commercial parties – participating in the East Zone of the AFC Champions League to discuss the spread of the coronavirus.
Tuesday’s meeting at AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur will examine the impact of various government travel restrictions and the classification of the virus by the World Health Organisation as a global health emergency.
The coronavirus has now killed more than 360 people and infected more than 18,000. It has been identified as being present in at least 23 countries.
Just last week, the AFC announced that all matches involving Chinese teams in the first three rounds of the Champions League will be played away as a protective measure. The teams involved are Beijing FC, Shanghai Shenhua, Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai SIPG.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has already taken the step of suspending all domestic matches and competitions indefinitely following the outbreak.
“As the governing body for football in Asia, the AFC is determined to protect the competition and make proper and appropriate plans, including but not limited to the rescheduling of matches in the East Zone,” said a statement.
The east zone group stage matches are scheduled to kick off on February 11 and 12.
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