THE Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) could be postponed again and possibly moved to another country due to Covid-19 quarantine requirements in Hong Kong.
Malaysia Rugby (MR) president Datuk Shahrul Zaman Yahya said the quarantine requirements — which is seven days for fully vaccinated visitors — would place a substantial financial burden on the competing teams.
This year's (2021) edition has been postponed to January next year in Hong Kong.
"The Hong Kong Union thought that the quarantine requirement would be lifted by early next year.
"However, we were told that it will still be required," said Shahrul at the unveiling of the new national team jersey in Damansara yesterday.
"If we have to go there (Hong Kong) and serve quarantine and come back and serve another quarantine in Malaysia, the cost would be too high for us. It is the same for other teams.
"We have been told that it could be postponed. Asian Rugby are currently studying whether it would be possible to hold the competition in another country with no quarantine requirement.
"Dubai, for example, does not require quarantine which is why the Asian Sevens Competition is being held there later this month.
"We do not know how things will go next season as everything is haywire at the moment."
Shahrul added that MR hope that next year's competition (2022) would be merged together with the 2021 event to keep expenses down.