China to hold FIFA World Cup qualifiers with strict epidemic prevention

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has given top priority to COVID-19 prevention in the remaining Asian Group A qualifiers for 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in China's Suzhou from May 30 to June 15.

"All the organization work and process of the event are designed for the prevention of the epidemic," said a CFA official on Thursday.

In April, Suzhou held the second leg of Asian Qualification playoffs for the Tokyo Olympics, in which China's women's football team booked its spot.

"The principles for epidemic prevention of entry-exit, transfer, event organization process and other relevant measures are consistent," an official from the organizing committee told Xinhua.

All participants shall strictly follow the relevant entry and epidemic prevention regulations of China, which means before departure, all players and officials shall provide the qualified reports of nucleic acid testing and antibody detection within the specified time, and obtain a green health code for entry.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport will be the only airport for all participants of this event to enter and exit. After landing at the airport, they will take nucleic acid tests and stay at the designated isolation hotel for one day. Only qualified personnel can transfer to the official hotels in Suzhou, and closed-loop management will be carried out.

In Suzhou, every team will have one separate hotel building to stay, but they all will be in a bio-secure "bubble," where strict health protocols are put in place to ensure the safety of everyone involved. In addition, the competition area and training fields are also inside the "bubble."

During the event, all the people in the "bubble" must take nucleic acid tests once every three days.

Team China will play against Guam, the Maldives, the Philippines and Syria in succession.