The Chinese women's football team remain in quarantine in Brisbane ©Getty Images

A decision on the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020 Asian Qualifiers is expected to be taken soon, with the Chinese team still in quarantine in Brisbane due to the coronavirus crisis. 

The Chinese squad had been in Wuhan, the city at the centre of the virus, earlier this week.

Having since travelled to Australia for the final round of the Asian qualifiers, they were told to stay in their inner-city hotel in Brisbane until February 5, putting their opening match with Thailand on Monday (February 3) in jeopardy.

In response, Football Federation Australia (FFA) withheld ticket sales and promised they it will provide a further update as soon as possible.

This is now expected to come tomorrow, following days of negotiations between the FFA and other bodies.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) released a statement confirming that all players and staff are in "good health condition" and are working with authorities to fulfill quarantine requirements.

"The team understands the concern of the Queensland government, the media and local people over the risk of coronavirus affection and will work closely with all stakeholders to fulfill all quarantine requirements," it said.

"The team appreciates the support from Football Federation Australia and the Queensland authorities, and is convinced that a solution will be found by joint efforts to ensure the team’s training activities in preparation for the competition."

China had been expected to play Thailand on Monday, but the fixture is now in jeopardy after the team was put in quarantine ©Getty Images
China had been expected to play Thailand on Monday, but the fixture is now in jeopardy after the team was put in quarantine ©Getty Images

The qualifiers had been originally been scheduled to take place in Wuhan but were moved to Nanjing and then Sydney earlier this month following the outbreak of coronavirus, which, according to latest figures, has spread to 17 countries worldwide and killed at least 170 people in China.

A depleted Chinese squad travelled to Australia, with Wang Shuang and Yao Wei among four players who spent Chinese New Year in Wuhan and therefore remain in the city under isolation.

Wang has played more than 100 matches for China, scoring 28 goals, while young talent Yao featured at last year's World Cup in France.

The rest of the team trained in isolation in Suzhou before going on to Australia.

The World Athletics Indoor Championships, scheduled for March in Nanjing, became the most high-profile event to be postponed because of the virus yesterday.

It has been delayed by a year until March 2021.

The opening test event for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Alpine Skiing World Cup races in Yanqing next month, was also cancelled.

Other sports affected include boxing, football, wrestling, basketball, tennis, ice hockey and diving.

German Olympic Sports Confederation President Alfons Hörmann described the illness as the "greatest threat" to Tokyo 2020, with Japan one of the countries with confirmed cases.