 Several sporting events in China were canceled or postponed in early April due to the outbreak of SARS in southern China, including the official draw for the Women's World Cup, and FIFA launched a joint investigation with the World Health Organization into whether the outbreak would subside by the time of the tournament.The United States, Canada, and Australia were mentioned as potential replacement hosts at the time.On 3 May 2003, FIFA announced that they would move the tournament to an alternate host country, which would be determined at a later date; the United States and Australia had expressed interest in hosting, while Brazil was floated as another potential host.