China-S. Korea women's Olympic football qualifier postponed to February 2021

The Chinese women's football team's Olympic qualification playoffs against South Korea have been postponed to February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Asian Football Confederation now plans for the two legs to be played on February 19 and February 24 next year, without announcing venues.

"The latest decision was confirmed to allow both member associations to have sufficient preparation time considering the challenging and unprecedented circumstances brought about by the pandemic," the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said.

The winners of the two-legged tie will join group leader Australia to advance to Tokyo Olympics.

The Chinese women's football team during training in Suzhou, China, May 14, 2020. /VCG

The Chinese team is now training in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. 

South Korea are 20th in the FIFA world rankings, five places below China.

Originally scheduled for March, the ill-fated games have been delayed several times amid the pandemic.

Hosts Japan, four-time winners United States, Brazil, New Zealand, Britain, Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, and Zambia have qualified for next year's Olympics Games.

The 12-team women's tournament is scheduled to start in Japan ahead of the Olympic opening ceremony on July 23, 2021.