The Asian Football Confederation says it is open to postponing the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia to 2028, following a deadly strike on Riyadh's international airport that has already forced organisers to postpone the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament.
A strike on the airport on Saturday killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300, with Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement claiming responsibility for what Reuters described as the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
AFC president Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa told reporters in Zurich, where the FIFA Council is meeting, that the confederation is in no rush to decide on the tournament's fate. "We can wait until the end of November. Things can change very quickly for better or worse in the region and it is question of seeing what happens," he said. He added that a call will be made if necessary but that the tournament could move back a year. "If we need to make a decision then we will, but we could move back a year to 2028 if we need to. But at the moment we are monitoring the situation and everything is on schedule," he said.
Saudi Arabia is set to host the Asian Cup for the first time in 2027, seen as a key test ahead of the kingdom hosting the 2034 World Cup. The 24-team tournament is currently scheduled to kick off on January 7 across eight venues in three cities - Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar.
This would not be the first postponement for the competition. The 2023 edition was pushed from June 2023 to July 2024 after China withdrew as hosts due to COVID-19 restrictions, with Qatar stepping in to host it in winter.
The attacks have also disrupted other sporting events in the kingdom. Organisers postponed the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition from its original October dates to December 27-30, citing the organisational and logistical challenges linked to the security situation. In a statement, organisers said the decision "reflects Riyadh Season's commitment to delivering sporting events to the highest standards, following an assessment of the organizational and logistical challenges associated with hosting the tournament and their potential impact on the quality of the audience experience."
Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz had been set to compete in the event from October 21-24, while defending champion Jannik Sinner had already withdrawn because of injury.
Golf's Asian Tour said it is also monitoring the security situation ahead of the Saudi International in Riyadh next month. Saudi Arabia is additionally hosting the FIFAe World Cup, FIFA's esports tournament series, in Jeddah from October 16-25, though the Japan Football Association said it would not take part following its own assessment of safety and security in the host country. Football Australia said its security team is monitoring the situation as well.
