Football
AAP 4y

Sydney Olympic qualifiers cast in doubt after China quarantined over coronavirus

Next week's round of Olympic women's football qualifiers in Sydney has been thrown into disarray, with the visiting Chinese team placed under quarantine due to concerns over the deadly coronavirus.

The Chinese women arrived in Brisbane with a clean bill of health on Wednesday but must now remain confined to their hotel until Feb. 5 following advice from Australia's chief medical officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, that the virus is contagious before people show symptoms.

They had been scheduled to play the first match of the series against Thailand at Campbelltown on Monday afternoon with Australia taking on Taiwan at the venue on Monday evening.

The double-header was to be the first of three at Campbelltown and Bankwest stadiums next week, with the six Group B fixtures completing the final stage of Asian qualifiers for this year's Tokyo Games.

Ticket sales for the games have been placed on hold, with the Football Federation Australia (FFA) issuing a statement on Wednesday evening to say they were working with authorities to determine the ramifications of the latest coronavirus scare.

The Chinese team arrived earlier in the day without two of their key players due to the virus outbreak in China.

Experienced midfielder Wang Shuang and 22-year-old Yao Wei were among a group of at least four players who had been in Wuhan for Chinese New Year before the city was placed in lockdown by health officials.

A team official told AAP Wang and Yao were unavailable due to travel restrictions and had stayed at home in isolation and under observation.

However none of the Chinese squad had shown any related symptoms of the virus.

Wang has played over 100 matches for the Steel Roses, scoring 28 goals, while Yao was a member of last year's World Cup squad and has made 22 international appearances.

Wuhan was the original location for the Group B fixtures before they were relocated to Nanjing and then Sydney after China withdrew as hosts at the weekend.

The Chinese team trained in isolation before departing for Australia and players and staff all underwent testing before departure with none returning a positive.

"They went through all the same checks that any Chinese national flying in from China would have gone through," FFA chief executive James Johnson said.

"We're confident in the government's checks and balances."

The top two teams progress to a two-leg home and away playoff against the top two from Group A for a spot in the Olympics.

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