Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia postponed after deadly attacks; rescheduled to Dec 2027–Jan 2028

The 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia has been postponed after a series of deadly attacks on the host country, with the 24-team tournament moved from its original 7 January to 5 February schedule to 23 December 2027 to 21 January 2028. Aston Villa will have goalkeeper Zion Suzuki more available this season because of the rescheduling of the Asian Cup.

In October, a missile attack by Yemen's Houthi movement on Riyadh's airport killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. A statement from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said the decision to reschedule had been taken "in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions".

Several other events in Saudi Arabia have been affected recently, with the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition cancelled and the Asian Tour indefinitely postponing its season-ending golf tournament that had been scheduled for 18-21 November. This is the second successive Asian Cup to be postponed after the 2023 tournament was moved to 2024 and to Qatar from China because of the Covid pandemic. Saudi minister vows 'serious response' to Houthi attacks on airports.

The postponement means a number of Premier League players will not have to miss part of the current season. Players who would have been expected to be called up included Japan's Zion Suzuki of Aston Villa, Wataru Endo of Liverpool and Daizen Maeda of Ipswich Town; Leeds United's Ao Tanaka, Crystal Palace duo Takehiro Tomiyasu and Daichi Kamada, and Hull City's Hidemasa Morita were also mentioned as Japan internationals who might have been selected.

Japan would have been among the favourites for the tournament, and Villa — who are in the Champions League — might have had to do without Suzuki for at least seven games if his country had reached the final. Liverpool are also in the Champions League but Endo has yet to play for the Reds this season. Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma is currently injured but is expected to be back later this year and was also likely to have been called up by Japan. Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov, of Uzbekistan, and Hull City and Australia defender Lucas Herrington would also have expected international call-ups for the Asian Cup.

The AFC added: "The new dates of the tournament will be presented to Fifa for approval."