The Asian Football Confederation has postponed the 2027 Asian Cup by almost a year because of the conflict in the Middle East and security concerns in Saudi Arabia.
The AFC said in a statement Tuesday that after extensive consultations with Saudi organizers, it had decided to push the tournament's kickoff back from Jan. 7 to Dec. 23.
The organizing committee "approved to reschedule the flagship national team tournament in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions," the AFC said.
The new dates, Dec. 23, 2027 to Jan. 21, 2028, will be submitted to FIFA for approval.
The decision ends months of speculation about a postponement, which had been rejected by local organizers until recently. As recently as last week, Saudi officials released kickoff times and a finalized schedule for the 2027 tournament in a move aimed at assuring continental soccer federations that planning was on track despite deadly recent attacks in Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Days before the postponement was announced, AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa had said a decision on whether to proceed could wait until late November, and that the tournament could be pushed back to 2028 if necessary.
