Because of the corona-related travel restrictions in China, the seven remaining qualifying games of Asia Group A for the 2022 World Cup cannot take place in Suzhou as planned. The games should instead be played in a neutral location, the Asian Federation AFC announced on Monday. The decision was made “because of the growing challenges faced by several participating countries when traveling to the People's Republic of China”.
Besides China, Group A also includes Syria, the Maldives, the Philippines and Guam. The qualifying matches concerned were originally supposed to take place between June 3rd and 15th in Suzhou, east China. The new schedule should be announced in the coming days.
A possible new venue could be the United Arab Emirates, the Chinese Football Association announced on Monday. Because of the outbreak of the corona pandemic in the Maldives and Syria, the national teams of these countries would have to go into strict quarantine after arriving in China. As a result, the previous game plan could not be adhered to.
