The 2027 Asia Cup has been delayed by almost a year amid the ongoing Middle East crisis.
Less than two months before it was due to kick off, the tournament hosted by Saudi Arabia has been postponed until December 2027 after the Houthi-Saudi Arabia conflict re-escalated.
Major airports in Saudi Arabia are operating reduced services after a missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi movement on Riyadh’s airport killed 13 people. Two people were also killed after an attack at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
It makes the tournament not only a logistical nightmare for the 24 participating teams but also raises serious safety concerns.
A statement from the Asian Football Confederation said: ‘The Organising Committee for AFC Asian Cup approved rescheduling the flagship national team tournament considering the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions.
‘The new dates of the tournament (December 23 2027 to January 21 2028) will be presented to FIFA for approval.
‘Exceptional circumstances have been created for the organisation and delivery of the Competition as originally scheduled, making the postponement necessary in the interest of all participating teams, officials, spectators and other stakeholders.’
However, the delay boosts several Premier League clubs, who no longer face losing players for up to a month of the season. Japan had ten Premier League players available for selection, with Aston Villa potentially losing first-choice goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.
Aston Villa could have been without Zion Suzuki, who has kept three clean sheets this season, for five Premier League matches and their last two league phase matches in the Champions League
Japan international Daichi Kamada has started all nine of Crystal Palace’s Premier League matches this season
Crystal Palace could have been without Takehiro Tomiyasu and Daichi Kamada for up to five Premier League matches had Japan reached the final.
Ipswich’s Daizen Maeda, who has made ten appearances this season, was likely to be called up alongside Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma, who is currently sidelined.
Manchester City, meanwhile, were expected to lose Uzbek international Abdukodir Khusanov.
This is the second successive tournament to be postponed after the 2023 edition was delayed by a year due to the Covid pandemic.
The Asia Cup is not the first event in Saudi Arabia to be disrupted after the PIF-backed Asian Tour Saudi International golf tournament was indefinitely postponed.
Meanwhile, the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament – featuring Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev – in Riyadh has been cancelled.
It is not a complete whitewash, though. Last weekend, Canelo Alvarez reclaimed the WBC super-middleweight title, beating Christian Mbilli on points in Riyadh. Riyadh will also play host to WWE Crown Jewel on Saturday.
The Formula 1 season concludes in the Middle East, with the penultimate race taking place in Qatar at the end of the month, followed by the season finale in Abu Dhabi at the start of December.
F1 intends to go ahead with both races but is continuing to monitor the situation.
Meanwhile, the second race of next season is scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in mid-March. There are currently no plans to cancel the event, despite this year’s race having been called off.
