Asian soccer meetings postponed because of virus outbreak

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Asian soccer leaders on Wednesday postponed two key meetings because of the spread of a virus.

The Asian Football Confederation was due to hold an executive committee meeting in Bahrain on March 14 ahead of a congress of member nations on April 16 in Kuala Lumpur. The AFC told The Associated Press that both gatherings had been postponed, with no new dates for the meetings given.

Governments have announced more than 20 cases of the virus in both Malaysia and Bahrain.

The virus has already impacted soccer matches on the continent with Asian Champions League games involving Chinese clubs Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG postponed to April-May.

All group and playoff matches in east zone of the AFC Cup have been delayed until April 7.