Football’s Asian Cup, due to be hosted by Saudi Arabia, could be moved back a year to 2028 after a series of attacks on the kingdom by Yemen’s Houthis. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said on Thursday that the tournament would be rescheduled “if we need to”, but that organisers were in “no hurry” to decide.
The 2027 edition is scheduled to start on January 7 in the Saudi cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and al-Khobar. Speaking to reporters in Zurich on Wednesday, Al Khalifa said a decision could wait until the end of November, warning that conditions in the region could change quickly.
AFC says it is monitoring the situation
Al Khalifa said the AFC was keeping watch on developments and that everything remained on schedule for now. He added that a decision would be taken if necessary, and that the event could move back to 2028 if needed.
Saudi Arabia has in recent days faced sustained attacks, which the AFC described as part of a dramatic escalation by the Houthis. The disruption has already reached the domestic sporting calendar.
Club fixtures and tennis event postponed in Saudi Arabia
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr saw their Asian Champions League match delayed by an hour on Monday. Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence said it had intercepted a missile fired towards Riyadh. Three Saudi domestic matches, including one involving Al-Nassr, were also postponed this week.
The exhibition Six Kings Slam tennis tournament, which was due to feature Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, has been pushed back to the end of December.
Teams and players voice safety concerns
Australia, one of the 24 teams set to take part in the Asian Cup, said this week it was “closely monitoring” the situation in Saudi Arabia. On Thursday, the organisation representing South Korean players said there was “serious concern regarding the safety of all players participating in the Asian Cup”.
Lee Keun-ho, president of the Korea Professional Footballers Association, said the military tensions and security instability in the Middle East “cannot be taken lightly”, according to a national news agency. Lee added that “no tournament’s value can take precedence over the lives and safety of players and football fans.”
