Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia could be postponed by a year amid Houthi attacks

The tournament is scheduled to begin on January 7 but could be moved by a year if needed, AFC president says.Published On 15 Oct 202615 Oct 2026Football’s Asian Cup, hosted by Saudi Arabia, could be moved back a year to 2028 following a series of attacks on the country by Yemen’s Houthis.The continental tournament will be rescheduled “if we need to” but the organisers are in “no hurry” to make a decision, Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said on Thursday.The 2027 Asian Cup is supposed to kick off on January 7 in the Saudi cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and al-Khobar.The kingdom has in recent days come under sustained attack in a dramatic escalation from the Houthis.“We can wait until the end of November,” Al Khalifa told reporters in Zurich on Wednesday about a decision on the fate of the Asian Cup.“Things can change very quickly for better or worse in the region, and it is a question of seeing what happens,” he added.“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.”Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr saw their Asian Champio...