FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Coronavirus scare might postpone India's fixtures

The FIFA and AFC have identified the months of October and November for alternative dates for the fixtures.

Following the discovery of COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus positive patients in India and several other Asian countries, the AFC along with FIFA have put forward a proposal to postpone all FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers matches in Asia of March and June to a later date. The said proposal will affect the Indian football team as well, who were scheduled to face Qatar (H), Bangladesh (A) and Afghanistan (H) in the qualifiers in these two months.

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"For both FIFA and the AFC, the well-being and health of all individuals involved in football matches remains the highest priority, and as such, a formal proposal to postpone upcoming matches in the Asian FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers will now be shared with the relevant member associations," the official statement by FIFA read.

"FIFA and the AFC will provide an update on these fixtures in the coming days following consultation with the AFC member associations," it further added.

As per the recent reports, India have already contracted with the virus with as much as 30 individuals have been located carrying the pathogen. With the Indian football season almost coming to an end, Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac had named 43 probables to be part of the preparatory camp - to attend from two separate dates. However, with the postponement of the three FIFA World Cup Qualifier matches, the future of the preparatory camp look bleak.

India was scheduled to play Asian champions Qatar at the Kalinga Stadium on March 26 along with games against Bangladesh and Afghanistan, which were supposed to be played out in June 4 and June 9. October 8, November 12 and November 17 have been proposed by the FIFA and the AFC to be alternate dates for the fixtures.

The proposal which was put forward by FIFA and AFC will need to be approved by the member associations to postpone the matches.

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Out of the three countries the Blue Tigers are scheduled to play the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against, media outlets have reported Qatar and Afghanistan to have found coronavirus positive individuals. While Bangladesh remains immune at the moment, a large number of Bangladeshi workers are poised to return home from the virus-hit Singapore.

The proposal for postponing the fixtures might also see the final round of the Asian qualifiers start from March 2021.