Virus pushes S.Korea-China Olympic qualifier to February

The coronavirus-delayed women's football Olympic qualifier between South Korea and China is now slated for February 2021, nearly a year later than first planned. The rivals will face off over two legs on February 19 and 24 next year, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said Wednesday, with a spot at next summer's rescheduled Tokyo Games at stake.

The first leg will be in South Korea, who are 18th in the FIFA world rankings compared to China's 15th. The two sides were supposed to meet in March but that was pushed back to June because of the pandemic, before that date was also shelved.

"The latest decision was confirmed to allow both member associations to have sufficient preparation time considering the challenging and unprecedented circumstances brought about by the pandemic," the AFC said in a statement. Of the AFC countries, Japan and Australia will both compete in women's football in Tokyo.