Asian Cup postponed due to unrest in Saudi Arabia
What happened
The Asian Football Confederation has pushed the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia back by almost a year, following attacks by Yemen's Houthi movement on the kingdom.
The 24-team tournament, first set for 7 January to 5 February 2027, will now take place between 23 December 2027 and 21 January 2028.
The AFC blamed exceptional regional circumstances, including major logistical complexities and travel disruptions.
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for strikes on Saudi airports and oil facilities; a missile attack on Riyadh's airport in October left 13 dead and more than 300 wounded, according to the BBC.
Arab Times, citing Reuters, put the death toll from that strike at at least 12.
Other events in Saudi Arabia have also been hit: the Asian Tour postponed a golf event indefinitely, and the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition has been moved or cancelled, depending on the report.
“in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions”
AFC statement
Summary written by AI from 3 independent sources (ABC, Arab Times, BBC) and checked automatically against them for copied text and numbers that are not in the sources. How we work
Open on the live globe →Who reported it
- 2026-11-03 06:24 UTCABC · abc.net.au ↗
- 2026-11-03 06:30 UTCJapan Times · japantimes.co.jp ↗
- 2026-11-03 06:38 UTCArab Times · arabtimesonline.com ↗
- 2026-11-03 06:55 UTCAl Jazeera · aljazeera.com ↗
- 2026-11-03 07:15 UTCBBC · bbc.co.uk ↗
- 2026-11-03 07:30 UTCGuardian · theguardian.com ↗
- 2026-11-03 08:31 UTCIraqi News via AFP · iraqinews.com ↗
- 2026-11-03 08:41 UTCArab News · arabnews.com ↗
- 2026-11-03 10:01 UTCKorea Herald · koreaherald.com ↗
- 2026-11-03 10:43 UTCEuronews · euronews.com ↗
- 2026-11-03 11:32 UTCDW · dw.com ↗
- 2026-11-04 12:43 UTCESPN · espn.com ↗
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