Coronavirus: International Champions Cup games moved away from Asia to impact pre-season friendlies

Lucrative pre-season friendlies will still take place but promoter’s confirm they will not schedule any matches in Asia this summer due to the outbreak

The International Champions Cup have pulled plans to host pre-season games in Asia this summer as a result of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

The pre-season tournament is due to be staged across the globe once more this year as leading clubs from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga travel around the world to compete ahead of their respective campaigns, with the lucrative friendlies attracting large crowds to lift the curtain on the 2020/21 season.

But the coronavirus epidemic has already caused plans to be readjusted in an effort to prevent games from being called off or played behind closed doors – which would likely result in the fixtures being cancelled regardless given their low importance.

Although the schedule is yet to be fully unveiled, a decision has already been taken by International Champions Cup promoters Relevant Sports to move games away from Asia due to safety concerns, with the outbreak originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Previously, both Beijing and Shanghai have held tournament fixtures, but plans are in place to prevent the same from occurring this summer.

“The health and safety of fans, clubs, players, staff and partners are our top priority,” said a Relevant Sports spokesman.

“Asia remains a key component of our global growth strategy and we look forward to hosting matches in the market in the near future.”

Although Asia has suffered most from the coronavirus outbreak, Europe remains on red alert due to the growing number of cases across the continent. Six Serie A matches on last weekend’s programme were called off with Italy the hardest hit European nation, with 52 deaths recorded as of Monday night and more than 2,000 positive tests.

Worldwide, more than 3,000 people have died from the outbreak, which has also infected more than 86,000 people.

Meanwhile the International Olympic Committee's executive board is meeting in Lausanne over the next three days, with the virus outbreak one of the major talking points on the agenda with speculation continuing over whether it will have an impact on this summer's Games in Tokyo.

European football's governing body Uefa discussed the issue at the meeting of its executive committee in Amsterdam on Monday, and president Aleksander Ceferin is sure to be asked about its plans again at a press conference on Tuesday, with qualifiers for the Women's European Championship taking place this week.

A wheelchair rugby test event ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games has been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Tokyo 2020 organising committee also announced on Tuesday that the Japan Para Wheelchair Rugby Championships, which had been due to take place between March 12 and 15, had been called off by the Japan Para Sports Association.

A Tokyo 2020 statement read: "Tokyo 2020 nevertheless will carry out the wheelchair rugby test event in some form in April, after ensuring a safe and secure environment, and will consult with the International Paralympic Committee, International Wheelchair Rugby Federation, and other relevant organisations to determine the new schedule and the content of such tests by the end of March.

"We will continue to stay in close collaboration with all relevant organisations as we prepare to deliver a safe and secure Tokyo 2020 Games."