Asian Cup postponed in wake of attacks on Saudi Arabia

What the report says

The Asian Football Confederation has postponed the 2027 Asian Cup, which was due to be staged in Saudi Arabia, after a series of deadly attacks and wider regional disruption affected the host country. BBC Sport reported that the 24-team tournament was originally set for 7 January to 5 February 2027, but has now been moved to 23 December 2027 to 21 January 2028, pending approval by FIFA.

According to the AFC statement cited by BBC Sport, the change was made because of “exceptional circumstances” linked to developments in the region, including logistical complications and travel disruption. The article noted that Saudi Arabia has recently seen several event cancellations, among them a tennis exhibition and a golf tournament, reflecting broader uncertainty around the sporting calendar in the country.

BBC Sport also highlighted the football impact of the rescheduling. The shift means several Premier League players who would have been in contention for Asian Cup duty are less likely to miss domestic fixtures during the current season. Among those mentioned were Japan internationals Zion Suzuki of Aston Villa, Wataru Endo of Liverpool, Daizen Maeda of Ipswich Town, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Daichi Kamada of Crystal Palace, as well as Uzbekistan’s Abdukodir Khusanov and Australia’s Lucas Herrington. The 2027 event is now the second Asian Cup in a row to be postponed, after the 2023 tournament was delayed and moved to Qatar because of the Covid-19 pandemic.