Asian Cup Moved Amid Regional Security Risks

The Saudi Pro League (SPL) has postponed matches scheduled for the coming week after the AFC Asian Cup 2027 was moved from its original dates. The league said the change followed a wider review of its 2026–27 fixture schedule and that the revised tournament dates create more flexibility in the domestic football calendar. The SPL will announce new dates for matchweek 13 after completing its review. The Asian Football Confederation announced that the 24-team Asian Cup, originally scheduled for January 7 to February 5, 2027, will instead take place from December 23, 2027, to January 21, 2028. The rescheduling followed attacks in Saudi Arabia and consultations among the AFC, the tournament’s Local Organising Committee, and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. An attack on Riyadh’s international airport last month killed at least 13 people and injured more than 300. Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility. Further attacks on the airport within a week killed at least five more people. The article notes that the SPL has already rescheduled several domestic matches this season for logistical reasons. It also reports that an AFC Champions League Elite match in Riyadh between Al-Nassr and the UAE’s Al Wasl was postponed the previous month because of a threat of missile attacks. On that occasion, Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence issued a safety warning 15 minutes before the scheduled kickoff.

The 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia has been postponed amid deadly attacks and wider disruption in the region. The 24-team competition was originally scheduled for 7 January to 5 February, but will now run from 23 December 2027 to 21 January 2028. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) cited exceptional circumstances, logistical complexities and travel disruption, and said the revised dates will be submitted to FIFA for approval. The postponement follows an October missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi movement on Riyadh’s airport, which killed 13 people and injured more than 300. Other sporting events in Saudi Arabia have also been cancelled or postponed, including the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition in Riyadh and the Asian Tour’s season-ending golf tournament. The Saudi Pro League has postponed this week’s fixtures, saying the change gives it more flexibility to distribute matches across the rest of the season. The revised dates also affect clubs whose players might otherwise have been absent during the tournament. Potential Japan call-ups include Aston Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, Ipswich Town’s Daizen Maeda, Leeds United’s Ao Tanaka, Crystal Palace players Takehiro Tomiyasu and Daichi Kamada, and Hidemasa Morita of Hull City. Japan would have been among the favourites, and Villa could have been without Suzuki for at least seven matches if Japan reached the final. Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma is injured but expected to return later this year. Manchester City’s Abdukodir Khusanov of Uzbekistan and Hull City and Australia defender Lucas Herrington were also expected to be in contention for call-ups. This is the second consecutive Asian Cup to be postponed: the 2023 edition was moved to 2024 and transferred from China to Qatar because of the Covid pandemic.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has postponed the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia because of security concerns and disruption caused by conflict in the Middle East. The tournament, which was due to begin on January 7, 2027, will now run from December 23, 2027, to January 21, 2028. The AFC said regional developments had created “substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions,” making it impossible to deliver the competition as originally scheduled and necessitating a delay to protect teams, officials, spectators and other stakeholders. The tournament was set to feature 24 teams at eight venues in Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar. The article connects the decision to a wave of deadly attacks on Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have targeted infrastructure including airports, as well as other regional conflicts. The Houthis are fighting a Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government in a civil war that reignited in July after a lengthy truce. The postponement follows disruption to other sporting events in the region, including a Formula One race, tennis finals, the 2027 Dakar Rally and the AFC Champions League Elite. Several football federations had pressed for a delay, with South Korean players among those raising concerns. Korea Professional Footballers Association president Lee Keun-ho argued that player and fan safety must take precedence over a tournament’s value. Saudi Arabia’s local organizing committee chairman, Yasser al-Misehal, said the country was ready to host on the new dates and that preparations would continue with the AFC and other partners. The article also notes that Saudi Arabia, a major sports investor and host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, has recently withdrawn or cut funding for some sports events.