West Ham United and Crystal Palace have indefinitely postponed their July tour to Queensland, Australia because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, both Premier League clubs announced on Wednesday.
West Ham United and Palace were scheduled to meet A-League side Brisbane Roar, coached by former England striker Robbie Fowler in the inaugural Queensland Champions Cup.
The exhibition event was set to take place in three cities -- Townsville, Gold Coast and Brisbane -- along the Queensland coast from July 11 to 18 with each team playing two matches.
"It is bitterly disappointing not to be able to make the club's landmark trip to Queensland this July," Palace chairman Steve Parish said in a statement https://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/2020/april/tour-to-queensland-postponed on the club's website.
"We'll do everything we possibly can to try to rearrange the tour for 2021, once things become clear with the Premier League schedule for the remainder of this season, and next year's provisional timings, too."
Soccer in England was suspended indefinitely last month due to the flu-like virus, which has infected 2.5 million people globally causing over 172,900 deaths.
West Ham manager David Moyes said the clubs had made the right decision to postpone the tour.
"This is a situation that has affected the entire world, though, and the only thing that matters at this time is that people stay safe and well," Moyes said in a statement https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2020/april/22-april/eva-air-queensland-champions-cup-postponed on West Ham's website.
"We hope the tournament can be rearranged at a later date once things are back to normal and we look forward to visiting Australia in the future."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
