FIFA and Asian Confederation (AFC) decided the qualifying matches for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, originally scheduled for October and November 2020, will be rescheduled for 2021, FIFA announced in a statement on Wednesday. 

“With the aim of protecting the health and safety of all participants, FIFA and the AFC will continue to work together to closely monitor the situation in the region and to identify new dates for the respective qualifying matches,” the statement said. 

“Further details on the new dates for the next round of qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and Asian Cup 2023 will be announced in due course,” it said. 

India was set to host Qatar on October 8, followed by matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh in November.