The 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia has been postponed following a series of deadly attacks on the host country, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced. The 24-team tournament was originally scheduled to run from 7 January to 5 February 2027 but has been rescheduled to 23 December 2027 to 21 January 2028.
The decision comes after a missile attack by Yemen's Houthi movement on Riyadh's airport in October killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. The AFC stated the rescheduling was taken "in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions." The new dates will be presented to FIFA for approval.
The Saudi Pro League has postponed this week's round of fixtures, saying the rescheduling creates "additional flexibility" for a more balanced distribution of fixtures across the season. Other events in Saudi Arabia have also been cancelled, including the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition and the Asian Tour's season-ending golf tournament.
This marks the second successive Asian Cup postponement after the 2023 edition was moved to 2024 and relocated from China to Qatar due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The postponement affects several Premier League players who would have been called up for the tournament. Japan's Zion Suzuki (Aston Villa), Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Daizen Maeda (Ipswich Town), Ao Tanaka (Leeds United), Takehiro Tomiyasu and Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), and Hidemasa Morita (Hull City) are among those who would have missed club matches. Uzbekistan's Abdukodir Khusanov (Manchester City) and Australia's Lucas Herrington (Hull City) were also expected to be called up.
