Asian World Cup qualifiers postponed due to coronavirus

FILE — Qataris gather at the capital Doha’s traditional Souq Waqif market as the official logo of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is projected on the front of a building on September 3, 2019. (Photo by – / AFP)

Most remaining games in the second round of Asian qualifying for the 2022 Qatar World Cup will be postponed to June because of coronavirus disruptions, officials said Friday.

Dozens of nations across eight groups in the current round of qualifying were supposed to resume their campaigns in March after the pandemic delayed matches slated for last year.

But the Asian Football Confederation said it was now inviting bids from member associations to host their respective groups in a centralized format in the June international window.

It blamed “existing travel and quarantine restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

As well as hosts Qatar, Asia has four guaranteed spots at the World Cup finals.