Coronavirus outbreak sees Great Britain women's Olympic basketball qualifiers moved from China to Serbia

Great Britain's women's team's Olympic qualifiers next month have been moved away from China following the coronavirus outbreak.

The British side had been due to take on China, Korea and Spain in Foshun, which is 1,000 kilometres away from the city at the centre of the outbreak, Wuhan.

The matches will now be played in Serbia, a statement from British Basketball confirmed. The death toll in China has now risen to 81 people.

Maurice Watkins, the chair of British Basketball, said: "The health and safety of the players and staff is of paramount importance in this situation.

"We thank FIBA for taking swift action on this issue in difficult circumstances."

The dates for the games are unchanged and take place between February 6 and 9. The top three teams from the tournament in Serbia will book their place at Tokyo 2020, along with the best three nations from each of the three other groups.

Spain are currently ranked third in the world, five places above China while Great Britain, 18th in the rankings, will hope to gain the edge over Korea who are just one place below them.