KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 — The Football Association of Selangor (FAS) has decided to pull out from the Meizhou Hakka Cup International Football Invitational Tournament at Meizhou City in Guangdong province, China slated to be held from January 24 to 29.

FAS in a statement issued on its website www.faselangor.my today said the decision was made to ensure the safety of Selangor players and officials following the coronavirus outbreak which has hit China at the moment.

"The FA Selangor apologises to the tournament organiser, which is Meizhou Hakka FC, and will do the best in our capacity to resolve this matter,” it said.

The invitational tournament features four teams, namely Thai League One side, Chonburi FC, Sangju Sangmu of South Korea, Selangor and Meizhou Hakka FC, as the host team.

At least 25 people have died from the outbreak of a new respiratory virus in China, according to its National Health Commission today.

Anadolu Agency reported that the commission has recorded 830 confirmed cases nationwide since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) by Chinese officials on December 31 in Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province. — Bernama