Fifa 2022 World Cup qualifiers in South America postponed amid coronavirus concerns

Tom Doyle12 March 2020

Fifa has confirmed that South American qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup will be postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Following a request from the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) amid concerns over the Covid-19 virus, Fifa confirmed in a letter that it will seek to reschedule the games which hadd been due to take place between March 23 and 31.

A number of Latin America's top football stars play for European teams in countries which have seen significant cases of the virus and would have faced quarantines on their return to their home countries.

A statement from Fifa read: "Following consultation with CONMEBOL, FIFA has decided to postpone the upcoming South American qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 as follows: Matches originally scheduled to take place during the international window of 23-31 March 2020 are postponed to later dates.

"Details of the postponed matches will be discussed and announced soon.

"FIFA will continue to assess the situation in relation to COVID-19 and will decide whether further changes to the schedule of South American FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers are required, always with the aim of protecting the health and safety of all individuals involved.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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