Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa hinted on Wednesday at the possibility of postponing the Asian Cup scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia next January, stressing that the confederation was in no hurry to decide the fate of Asia’s leading national-team tournament. The 2027 Asian Cup is scheduled to begin on 7 January, with matches to be held in Jeddah, Riyadh and Al Khobar.
Asian Football Confederation president delays decision on tournament’s fate
Sheikh Salman told reporters in Zurich: “We are not in a hurry,” adding that the confederation could wait until the end of November before making a decision. He said conditions in the region could change very quickly, either for better or worse, and that the position depended on monitoring what would happen.
He added: “If we need to make a decision, we will,” indicating that the tournament could be postponed by one year to 2028 if necessary. But he stressed that the confederation was currently monitoring the situation and that everything was proceeding according to the set schedule.
The possibility of postponement was raised after the recent announcement that the exhibition tennis tournament Six Kings Slam had been postponed until the end of next December. Serbian Novak Djokovic, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and German Alexander Zverev had been scheduled to take part.
