Coronavirus hampers Philippine hosting of ASEAN football tournament

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines' hosting of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Women' Championship will be put on hold due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

In a statement published Wednesday on the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) website, the AFF announced the postponement of several competitions scheduled for the next four months.

This included the AFF Women's Championship Qualifiers, which were to be hosted by the Philippines in May to June of this year. It will be held on a later date that will be announced by the federation.

The AFF’s announcement came after FIFA and AFC decided to postpone their tournaments like the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and AFC club competitions.

The inaugural ASEAN Club Championship, where Filipino club Ceres-Negros FC will compete, has also been rescheduled for 2021.

Meanwhile, other AFF competitions scheduled for the latter part of the year like the AFF Under-15 Girl's Championship and the AFF Suzuki Cup — slated for September and November, respectively — are scheduled to push through.