In a July 3 message, the AFC released the group draw results for the Asian Zone 12 of the World Qualifying Tournament and notified participating associations the following day that they would need to report specific information about their home matches within two weeks.
Although FIFA and the AFC insist on a home-and-away system, in light of the spread of the global epidemic, the AFC has asked associations to prepare alternative venues to deal with possible contingencies, in addition to requiring the reporting of preferred home venues.
In a video conference in late June, FIFA and the AFC confirmed that the 12-team tournament will follow the home-and-away system and formulated countermeasures for possible unforeseen circumstances. In the event that a team is unable to play at its established home ground, its affiliated association is required to report an alternative venue 10 days before the tournament and play the match at a third location or on time.
AFC regulations, the participating associations need to report the relevant information before July 16th. It is understood that the CFA has begun to examine the 12 strong home field, but the specific home field has not yet been determined, Shanghai is one of the candidates. For the neutral venue or third-party venue options, the CFA will also be fully considered.
In order to cope with the uncertainty, the CFA has also formulated other feasibility plans. For example, if a city in mainland China is unable to host a home match due to an epidemic or other factors, the CFA may choose a venue in another AFC member country as an alternate "home" venue. Macau, China could be one of the alternatives.
It is reported that the Chinese team's rivals in the same group have also begun to work on the selection of the home field. The Japan Football Association (JFA) intends to arrange two rounds of home matches for the Japanese team in the Kansai region of Japan in September and October this year, and the home stadium of Gamba Osaka could be a candidate. It has previously hosted Japan's Top 40 matches against Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Meshal, the president of the Saudi Football Federation, said that he will work with Saudi Arabia's head coach Reynard to choose the team's home stadium by considering factors such as the atmosphere of each city, the number of fans and the number of spectators at the stadium. As of now, Riyadh Stadium is more likely to be the home stadium.
The Vietnam Football Association (VFA) said they will arrange the team's home ground at Hanoi's My Dinh Stadium if the government approves.
The situation is even more concerning for Australia, where strict anti-epidemic measures are currently being enforced, as the schedule for the Round of 12 shows that China will face Australia on the road in the first round of matches on September 2nd. So far, the Australian Football Association has been unable to determine whether the Australian government will allow the team to play in their home country for the 12-team tournament.
