China are set to travel to South Korea for the first leg of the tie - the winners of which will qualify for this year's Olympic Games in Tokyo - on March 6 and were scheduled to host the return on March 11.

A source from the CFA told China Daily that the match will have to be staged in a different country due to the outbreak of the virus, which has so far killed 1,665 people and infected 68,500 in China.

The CFA had initially planned to host the game in Japan, but the Olympic host nation has tightened restrictions on those entering the country from the Hubei and Zhejiang Provinces.

China reached the playoffs at the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Olympic Football Qualifying Tournament, which had to be rescheduled because of the virus - given the official title of COVID-19 by the World Health Organization last week.

Group B of the competition was due to be held in Wuhan, where the virus originated, before it was moved to Nanjing and then to Sydney.

The Chinese women's team were then kept in quarantine in Brisbane to ensure they did not have the illness, forcing organisers into further changes to the schedule.

The event is among the numerous sporting events, including Olympic qualifiers, the World Indoor Athletics Championships and the Formula One Grand Prix in Shanghai, to have been postponed, relocated or cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Australia entertain Vietnam in the other playoff for a place in the women's tournament at Tokyo 2020.