The draw for the qualifiers of the 2022 Women's Asian Cup, set to be held in India, has been postponed until further notice by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The draw was set to be held on May 27, 2021, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
It has to be noted that the host nation India has been reeling under the second wave of Covid-19 with cases surging. However, the situation is grim in Malaysia and across Asia as well. AFC have decided to postpone the draw for the qualifiers after taking into account the current situation.
"Taking into careful consideration the current challenges and logistical arrangements, the AFC agreed that the postponement of the draw was a necessary step due to rising COVID-19 cases in the host nation as well as across the Continent keeping in mind the wellbeing and safety of all teams, players, officials and relevant stakeholders," the statement from AFC read.
The qualifiers for the tournament were slated to be held from September 13 to 25, 2021, at centralised venues.
The 2022 Asian Cup is slated to be held from January to February 2022 across three venues in India - Navi Mumbai, Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad. Whether the postponement of the draw will affect the tournament remains to be seen, especially considering the fact that India is struggling with the pandemic currently.
However, AFC also confirmed that the draw for the qualifying matches of both the 2022 AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup in Uzbekistan and the 2022 AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup in Indonesia will proceed as planned on May 27.
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