Saudi Arabia confirms January start for Asian Cup 2027 despite attacks

Asian Cup 2027 to kick off on January 7 with hosts Saudi Arabia facing Palestine in Riyadh as AFC announces schedule.

Saudi Arabia will host the 2027 Asian Cup in January and February despite recent doubts surrounding the tournament’s schedule due to ongoing attacks on the country and wider regional unrest.

The continental championship will get under way on January 7 in Riyadh, where the hosts will take on Palestine in a Group A fixture, according to the tournament schedule announced by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Monday.

Riyadh’s 72,000-seat King Fahd Sports City Stadium will also host the inaugural match and serve as the venue for the final on February 5.

Eight venues – five in Riyadh, two in Jeddah and one in Al-Khobar – will host the 51 matches across the 29-day tournament.

Despite the confirmation from the organisers, the tournament’s fate remains under scrutiny as several of the 24 participating federations have raised concerns about security in the region.

Earlier on Monday, organisers of the Dakar Rally said the race would be moved out of Saudi Arabia for the 2027 edition due to the “recent developments in the region”.

Last week, a top Japanese football official said the ongoing security situation in Saudi Arabia would make it difficult for the country to host the Asian Cup as scheduled.

“Based on what I’ve learned from the news, the situation is still unsafe, so at this point, I don’t think it would be easy to hold the [Asian] Cup there,” Japan Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto said.

“I just had a meeting with the Saudi side, and they said that their top priority is the safety of the players, the fans and everyone who would be attending the tournament.”

Several major sporting events in Saudi Arabia have been cancelled or postponed amid escalating attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.

The Saudi-led coalition intercepted a barrage of projectiles from Yemen that targeted cities across the kingdom on Sunday.

The Saudi Civil Defence said shrapnel from two intercepted ballistic missiles, suspected to have been fired by Yemen’s Houthis, fell in Jeddah, Taif, Rabigh and Wadi Al-Mughammas in Mecca province.

The kingdom has faced waves of Houthi missile and drone attacks in recent weeks that have targeted civilian and military infrastructure.

Riyadh announced late on Saturday that international flights from King Khalid International Airport would resume from Terminal 2 on Sunday while Terminal 1 would be designated for domestic flights.

This follows the suspension of flights from the Riyadh airport after waves of Houthi strikes, including one on 10 October that killed 13 people and wounded hundreds.

AFC chief Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa said this month that a postponement of the continental championships until 2028 was possible if necessary, but the local organising committee said it was sticking to the original schedule.

Defending champions Qatar will begin their title defence against Thailand on January 11 while Japan will open ⁠⁠their campaign against Indonesia the same day.

South Korea will face Yemen, ⁠⁠Australia will take on Singapore ⁠⁠and Iran will meet China in their opening matches.

The tournament’s group stage concludes on January 20 with the knockout rounds ‌‌beginning on January 22.

Saudi Arabia will host the Asian Cup for the first time, ‌‌seven ‌‌years before it stages the 2034 World Cup.