The Asian Football Confederation announced Thursday that the draw for the 2027 Asian Cup, originally scheduled for April 11 in Riyadh, has been postponed.
No new date has been set, with officials citing the need to “ensure the undisrupted attendance of all stakeholders at the final draw ceremony.”
The postponement comes amid escalating security concerns in the Middle East following U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran in late February.
Retaliatory actions from Tehran have caused instability across the Gulf, forcing the delay or relocation of multiple high-profile sporting events.
Despite these challenges, the AFC confirmed that the tournament itself will proceed as planned in Saudi Arabia from Jan. 7 to Feb. 5, 2027.
Saudi Arabia will host the Asian Cup for the first time, taking over after India withdrew from the bidding process in February 2023.
The 24-team tournament marks the 19th edition of Asia’s premier national-team competition and returns to its traditional four-year cycle after Qatar hosted the 2023 edition, which concluded in February 2024 due to earlier scheduling disruptions.
Qualification is now in its final stages.
Host nation Saudi Arabia, defending champions Qatar, and four-time winners Japan have secured their spots, alongside a growing list of confirmed qualifiers including Australia, Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Palestine, Bahrain, China, Indonesia, North Korea, Kuwait, and Kyrgyzstan.
Additional places will be decided in the concluding matches of the third qualifying round, with teams like Syria, Singapore, and Vietnam in contention.
The tournament is expected to feature 20-21 confirmed teams, with the remaining berths settled in the coming weeks.
In a related announcement, the AFC confirmed that the latter stages of the Asian Champions League Elite will proceed in Jeddah from April 13 to 26.
Four postponed last-16 ties from the West Region, originally affected by the regional unrest, will be played as single-leg matches.
