Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia could move to 2028, AFC says

The Asian Cup, due to start in Saudi Arabia in January, could be pushed back a year to 2028 “if we need to”, the head of Asian football said, after a series of Houthi attacks on the kingdom. At the same time, FIFA and the Saudi Esports Federation have postponed the FIFAe Finals that were due in Jeddah this month.

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), also stressed there was “no hurry” to decide. “We can wait until the end of November,” he told reporters in Zurich on Wednesday. “Things can change very quickly for better or worse in the region and it is a question of seeing what happens.”

“If we need to make a decision then we will, but we could move back a year to 2028 if we need to,” he said. “But at the moment we are monitoring the situation and everything is on schedule.”

The tournament

The 2027 Asian Cup is meant to kick off on January 7 in the Saudi cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and Al Khobar, with 24 teams. The kingdom has been under sustained attack in recent days in a sharp escalation of its war with the Iran-backed Houthi group. The previous Asian Cup was delayed by a year after China pulled out as hosts because of Covid-19 restrictions, with Qatar stepping in to stage it in early 2024.

Teams voice concern

• Australia, one of the 24 teams, said this week it was “closely monitoring” the situation in Saudi Arabia.
• South Korea: the organisation that represents the country’s players said on Thursday that it had “serious concern regarding the safety of all players participating in the Asian Cup”. “The ongoing military tensions and security instability in the Middle East are issues that cannot be taken lightly,” said Lee Keun-ho, president of the Korea Professional Footballers Association, according to Yonhap News Agency. “No tournament’s value can take precedence over the lives and safety of players and football fans,” he said.
• The Korea Football Association said it was in communication with the AFC and would keep discussing developments.

FIFAe Finals postponed

FIFA and the Saudi Esports Federation postponed the FIFAe Finals 2026, which were scheduled for Jeddah from October 16 to 25. Organisers said the decision followed “an assessment of recent developments in the region and their impact on the logistical arrangements required to stage the tournament”. Further announcements will be made “in due course”.

A strike on Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300, with the Houthis claiming responsibility for what is described as the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. Japan and Brazil withdrew their esports teams on Saturday after assessing the situation in the host country.

Other sport affected

The disruption has spread across the kingdom’s sporting calendar:

• Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr had their Asian Champions League match delayed by an hour on Monday, after the coalition said it had intercepted a missile fired towards Riyadh.
• Three Saudi domestic league matches, including one involving Al Nassr, were postponed this week.
• The exhibition Six Kings Slam tennis tournament, which was due to feature Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, was moved from October to the end of December.
• Golf’s Asian Tour said it was monitoring developments ahead of next month’s Saudi International in Riyadh.

Why it matters

The Asian Cup is the biggest event on Saudi Arabia’s calendar and is due to start in under three months, and teams and players’ unions are already voicing safety concerns. The AFC’s end of November deadline gives the region about six weeks to calm down. Read our reports on how Houthi attacks have hit Riyadh’s airport and on Saudi Arabia shelving its Neom stadium for the 2034 World Cup.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn and The Express Tribune.