Coronavirus in China: the sports calendar continues to be turned upside down - France 24

Lausanne (AFP)

Alpine Skiing World Cup event canceled and Indoor Athletics Worlds postponed Wednesday, National Football Championship suspended Thursday: the sports calendar continues to be disrupted by the coronavirus epidemic in China.

. Canceled, postponed or moved events

- Football, championship of China: the season of Chinese Super League, which was to start on February 22, has been postponed as well as "competitions of all types and at all levels" in order to protect the players and the public, said the federation.

- Athletics, world indoor championships: scheduled for Nanjing in China from March 13 to 15, they have been postponed to 2021. It was to be the first major event of the year in athletics, only four months before the Tokyo Olympics (July 24 - August 9). The Asian Athletics Federation had already decided to cancel the continental indoor championships scheduled for February 12 and 13 in Hangzhou.

- Football, Champions League: during the first three days of the group stage, the home matches of the four Chinese clubs involved have been reversed and will therefore be played away from home. A decision will be made later to determine where they can play their three home games.

- Alpine skiing, stage of the Men's World Cup: Xiaohaituo mountain in the Yanqing district, 50 km north of Beijing, site of the 2022 Winter Olympics, was to host a downhill and a super from 12 to 16 February. Alpine skiing l counting for the World Cup. The FIS has not specified whether these tests will be rescheduled in another location.

- Hainan cycling tour: the International Cycling Union (UCI) announced Monday the cancellation of this event on the program since this year of the UCI ProSeries, the second level of international cycling, and scheduled from February 23 to March 1 on the southern island of Hainan.

- Boxing, Olympic qualifications: initially scheduled from February 3 to 14 in Wuhan, center of the epidemic of the new coronavirus, the tournament was rescheduled in Amman (Jordan) from March 3 to 11.

- Football, women's Olympic qualification tournament: the meetings scheduled for February 3 to 9 in Wuhan between China, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia, were relocated to Nanjing (east), then moved to Sydney (Australia). Upon arrival, the Chinese team was placed in quarantine at their hotel in Brisbane.

- Basketball, women's Olympic qualification tournament: scheduled from February 6 to 9 in Foshan (east of China) between China, Great Britain, Spain and South Korea, the tournament was moved to Belgrade at the same dates.

- esport, Chinese League of Legends: Riot Games, the publisher of the video game, has decided to postpone the resumption of the LPL 2020 championship (League of Legends Pro League), originally scheduled for February 5.

- Swimming, World Diving Series: scheduled for March 7 to 9 in Beijing, the Chinese stage has been canceled, announced the international swimming federation. The synchronized swimming world series, scheduled for Suzhou from April 23 to 25, is also in question.

. Events and events under surveillance

- Formula 1, Chinese Grand Prix: scheduled for Shanghai from April 17 to 19, it attracts tens of thousands of fans. "We are monitoring the situation," the FIA ​​said in a statement.

- Formula E, Sanya E-Prix: still scheduled for March 21 on the southern island of Hainan, but the organizers are monitoring the situation "closely".

- Football, World Cup qualifications: China is due to receive the Maldives on March 26 and to go to Guam on March 31. The decision to move or postpone these international meetings will be taken "later", said the Chinese football federation.

- Wrestling, qualifications for the Olympic Games: "a decision within 15 days" will be taken for the possible holding of the Asian wrestling qualification tournament scheduled from March 27 to 29 in Xi'an (center), said the International Federation of fight.

- Conference: the SportAccord convention, which brings together each year the presidents of the major international sports federations and the bosses of the Olympic movement, including the IOC president Thomas Bach, is to take place in Beijing from 19 to 24 April. SportAccord "is closely monitoring the situation," a spokesman told AFP on Monday.

© 2020 AFP