The final round of Asian qualifiers for the 2004 Athens Olympics, scheduled for later this year, have been postponed due to concerns over the deadly SARS virus, the Japan Football Association (JFA) said on Monday.

The matches, originally set to be played from August 30 to October 18, were called off until further notice following an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) meeting in Doha at the weekend.

Japan play Myanmar in Tokyo on May 1 and again on May 3 in the second round of Asian qualifiers.

The flu-like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has killed at least 327 people worldwide and more than 5,000 people have been infected since it broke out in the Chinese province of Guandong last year.

Asia has been seriously hit by the spread of the disease, leading to the cancellation of a number of sporting events throughout the region.

Earlier this month, Portugal pulled the plug on a June trip to South Korea and Japan citing SARS as the reason.