Asian Football Confederation (AFC) national team competitions director Shin Man Gil shows the draw for Beijing FC of China during the 2020 AFC Champions League football tournament official draw for group stages at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on December 10 2019. (Photo by Mohd RASFAN / AFP)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia— Asian Champions League football games involving Chinese clubs were postponed Tuesday because of the spread of a virus in the country.
The Asian Football Confederation announced the changes after hosting an emergency meeting of six national football bodies affected by the games involving four teams from China — Beijing, Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai SIPG and Shanghai Shenhua.
The first three rounds of group games in February and March were moved to April and May. The first knockout stage is also expected to be delayed, with last 16 games in June instead of May.
The one exemption is a Group E game on Feb. 18 in Thailand when Chiangrai United hosts Beijing. The Chinese team is in a training camp in South Korea “and may not need quarantine measures,” the AFC said.
“Chiangrai United have stressed that they will continue to work closely with the Thai government and medical officials to monitor the on-going and fast-moving situation,” the AFC said.
Health concerns already forced the AFC to move a women’s Olympic qualifying group from China to Australia, and postpone a men’s indoor football tournament in Turkmenistan.