Olympic qualifiers to go ahead after China’s quarantine

By: The Associated Press Posted: 6:44 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020

SYDNEY, Australia - The China national women's soccer team will compete in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Sydney next month after being quarantined in a Brisbane hotel as fears spread about the outbreak of a new virus that has killed more than 170 people.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/01/2020 (2392 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SYDNEY, Australia – The China national women’s soccer team will compete in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Sydney next month after being quarantined in a Brisbane hotel as fears spread about the outbreak of a new virus that has killed more than 170 people.

Quarantine was imposed by health officials in Queensland state who said on Wednesday that 32 people, including players, coaches and staff, travelled through the virus-effected Chinese city of Wuhan a week ago. The team was placed in isolation after arriving in Brisbane from Shanghai on Tuesday, and will remain confined to a Brisbane hotel until Wednesday.

China Football Association said players and staff are in good health and have shown no signs of the disease.

The Olympic regional qualifying tournament had been relocated from Wuhan to Nanjing before the Asian Football Confederation moved it to Sydney, Australia, because of concerns over the deadly coronavirus.

Football Federation Australia on Friday confirmed the new schedule for the four-team tournament which will begin Monday with a match between Taiwan and Thailand at Sydney’s Campbelltown Stadium. China will play its first match against Thailand at Campbelltown on Thursday.

The tournament, which now runs to Feb. 12, is the final stage of regional qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics which begin in July. The top two teams will progress to a home-and-away playoff against the top two teams from the group comprising South Korea, Myanmar and Vietnam for the last spot at the Olympic tournament.

In a statement Friday chief executive James Johnson said the FFA “very much appreciates the collaborative approach displayed by everyone to re-schedule the Olympic Qualification tournament.

“I’d like to thank the CFA (Chinese Football Association) for their understanding and co-operation, despite the difficult situation their team and staff have found themselves in since arriving in Brisbane.”

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