The AFC have been forced to postpone their Congress ©Getty Images

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have postponed the organisation’s Congress in Kuala Lumpur and rescheduled the women’s Olympic qualifier between China and South Korea.

The AFC Congress had been due to take place in Malaysia’s capital city on April 16.

An AFC statement confirmed the Congress will now be rescheduled, citing the “unavoidable postponement of the AFC Audit and Compliance, Finance and Legal Committee, as well as the AFC Executive Committee meeting”.

The meetings were cancelled due to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus outbreak, which has heavily impacted the sporting calendar in Asia.

“These are unprecedented and challenging times, but the AFC is working tirelessly to monitor the situation, including the various travel restrictions, while being in constant contact with our member associations, leagues and clubs,” said Dato’ Windsor John, AFC general secretary.

“We are grateful for the support we have received from all our stakeholders, including our commercial and broadcast partners and agencies, as we try to protect the safety and well-being of all our players, officials and spectators while also ensuring the integrity of the competitions.”

The AFC say further emergency meetings will take place next week.

The two-legged Women’s Olympic Qualifying Final Round playoff was among the events postponed due to coronavirus, given the official title of COVID-19 by the World Health Organization.

South Korea and China had been due to play the matches on March 6 and 11.

The AFC said the matches have now been scheduled for April 9 and 14.

China will face South Korea in their women's Olympic qualification playoff in April ©Getty Images
China will face South Korea in their women's Olympic qualification playoff in April ©Getty Images

China’s home leg will take place in Australia at the Campbelltown Stadium in Sydney.

Eight further matches in the AFC Champions League have also been postponed due to the ongoing outbreak.

Five of the ties involve Iranian teams, with 388 cases having been confirmed in the country to date.

The AFC also agreed to the proposal by both Ulsan Hyundai FC and Perth Glory to swap their AFC Champions League Group F tie, which was originally scheduled to take place on March 4 at the Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium.

The tie will now take place on April 7, while Perth Glory’s home tie against Ulsan Hyundai FC will now be held at the Perth Rectangular Stadium on March 18.

Around 83,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide since the outbreak began in China.

Nearly 79,000 of the cases have been recorded in China, however the virus is now believed to be spreading faster outside the country.