AFC Asian Cup postponed after attacks on Saudi Arabia

The 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia has been postponed after attacks on the host country, Sportstar reported. The Asian Football Confederation said on Tuesday that the 19th edition of the tournament will now run from 23 December 2027 to 21 January 2028. It was originally scheduled from 7 January to 5 February 2027.

Why it matters

Qatar will enter the AFC Asian Cup as the defending champion, Sportstar reported. The 24-team tournament will serve as a dress rehearsal for Saudi Arabia, which is set to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. This is the second successive Asian Cup to be postponed, BBC Sport said, after the 2023 tournament was moved to 2024 and to Qatar from China because of the Covid pandemic.

The attacks

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have targeted Saudi infrastructure, including airports, since hostilities resumed. The Houthis are fighting a Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government, a civil war that reignited in July following a years-long truce.

A strike on Riyadh’s international airport last month killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300, with Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement claiming responsibility for the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade, Sportstar said.

Other events affected

Other sporting events in the Gulf have also been affected due to the Houthi attacks. The Dakar Rally was moved from Saudi Arabia to Portugal and Morocco due to the unrest in the region. Golf’s Asian Tour postponed the Saudi International indefinitely.

The Six Kings Slam exhibition tennis tournament in Riyadh was also moved from October to December, with FIFA indefinitely postponing its FIFAe Finals 2026 video game competition in Jeddah.

What happens next

The new dates of the tournament will be presented to FIFA for approval, the AFC said. Premier League players from Japan will not have to miss part of the current season because of the postponement, BBC Sport reported.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo and Ipswich Town forward Daizen Maeda would have been expected to be called up by Japan. Leeds United’s Ao Tanaka, Crystal Palace duo Takehiro Tomiyasu and Daichi Kamada, and Hull City’s Hidemasa Morita also play for Japan.

Japan would have been one of the favourites for the tournament and Villa, who are in the Champions League, might have had to do without Suzuki for at least seven games if his country had reached the final.

Liverpool are also in the Champions League but Endo has yet to play for the Reds this season. Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma is currently injured but is expected to be back later this year and is also likely to have been called up by Japan.

Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov, of Uzbekistan, and Hull City and Australia defender Lucas Herrington would also have expected international call-ups for the Asian Cup.

By the numbers

24 teams will take part in the 19th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, Sportstar reported.

Sporting events affected by attacks in Saudi Arabia

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Sources

• Sportstar

• BBC Sport

• Photo: Medelam, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)