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China considering moving World Cup qualifying match due to SARS

January 15, 2004
BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese soccer officials are considering moving a World Cup qualifying match next month away from the southern city of Guangzhou because of SARS.

The Feb. 18 preliminary match for the 2006 World Cup between China and Kuwait may be moved to Shanghai or the cities of Wuhan in central China or Liuzhou in the south, the Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday.

However, a women's international soccer tournament this month will go ahead as planned in Shenzhen, a city just south of Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Xinhua reported.

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The announcement was the first indication that anti-SARS efforts this year might disrupt sports events. China canceled a string of events during last year's outbreak, including the women's soccer World Cup, which was moved to the United States.

Guangzhou had China's first confirmed SARS case of the season last month, and two suspected patients are hospitalized. Shenzhen has had no SARS cases this year.

The Women's Four Nations Championship in Shenzhen is going ahead because teams from the United States, Sweden and elsewhere already have booked travel and the event would be too hard to move, the news agency reported.

During the first SARS outbreak, China also canceled an international ice hockey tournament and postponed the start of its professional soccer season.