The Asian Football Confederation announced, on Tuesday, the postponement of the 2027 Asian Cup, scheduled for Saudi Arabia, until the end of next year, while keeping the Kingdom as host of the continental championship, in a decision that changes the date of the competitions that include 24 teams, and opens the door to rearranging the technical and organizational programs of the national federations, in addition to reviewing the Saudi Professional League calendar.
According to the decision, the tournament will move from its previous date between January 7 and February 5, 2027 to the period from December 23, 2027 until January 21, 2028, with the new dates being presented to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) for approval.
The organizing committee explained that the decision was taken in light of “exceptional circumstances” that include major logistical complications and travel disruptions, noting that these circumstances prevented the tournament from being held according to its original schedule, and that the rescheduling came in consideration of the interests of the participating teams, officials, fans, and other concerned parties.
The committee confirmed that the tournament will remain in Saudi Arabia, and that changing its date does not mean changing the host country, while the Kingdom was preparing to organize the Asian Cup for the first time in its history, after its team won the title 3 times, in a tournament that also represents one of the organizational stations that precede hosting the 2034 World Cup.
In the first Saudi reaction, Yasser Al-Meshal, head of the local organizing committee for the tournament, confirmed that the Kingdom was fully prepared to host the competitions next January, and that preparations to receive the teams and fans had been completed according to the approved plans.
Al-Mishal said, in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency: “The Kingdom is fully prepared to host the Asian Cup, and our preparations to receive the continent’s teams and fans in January were complete according to the approved plans.” We will continue to work with the same momentum until the new date of the tournament in December 2027.” He added that rescheduling means moving the tournament to its new date, while plans and preparations continue according to what is approved, stressing the close work with the Asian Confederation and all partners to ensure an integrated, high-level organizational experience, and to present an exceptional version worthy of the status of the Kingdom and the Asian Cup.
From Australia, the local Football Association announced its support for the postponement decision, stressing the importance of giving priority to the safety of players, technical staff and fans. Anter Ishak, President of the Australian Federation, said: “The safety and well-being of the players, technical staff and fans comes first,” praising the commitment of the Saudi Football Federation and the local organizing committee to holding a world-class tournament. The Australian Federation confirmed that changing the date of the Asian Cup will not affect its international program during this November, as it will proceed with the two scheduled friendly matches against Qatar in Doha, and Jordan in Amman.
At the local level, the Saudi Professional League decided to postpone the matches of the 13th round of the competition, as part of a comprehensive review to redistribute the rounds over the remainder of the season, after the developments that occurred in the sports calendar.
The association explained that the review aims to achieve a better balance in the match schedule, take into account recovery and hospitalization periods for players, and take advantage of the additional space provided by moving the Asian Cup from its previous date, allowing for a re-evaluation of the frequency of holding matches.
The Association intends to hold a workshop with the clubs to discuss the distribution of tours and considerations related to the calendar, and to listen to its vision and proposals, before adopting the updated distribution, and announcing the new dates according to the approved mechanism, and in coordination with the relevant authorities. As for the national teams, the postponement opened the issue of the future of the technical staff, after the new date for the tournament exceeded the end of the contracts of a number of coaches, whose federations were planning to evaluate them or take decisions regarding their continuation after the end of the Asian Cup in February 2027.
At the forefront of these files is the future of the Greek Georgios Donis, coach of the Saudi national team, whose contract expires next June, after he was preparing to lead the “Green” in the tournament at its previous date, before the technical calculations changed with the competitions moving to December 2027.
Last October, Asharq Al-Awsat sources revealed an initial agreement with Spaniard Roberto Martinez to coach the Saudi national team for 4 years, in exchange for about 13 million euros annually. According to the sources, the Spanish coach agreed during the negotiations to lead Al-Akhdar, and remained waiting for the green light to complete the agreement.
On the other hand, a source in the Saudi Football Association at the time denied concluding an official agreement with Martinez, confirming that Donis would continue in his position, while reliable sources reported that the potential agreement with the Spanish coach was conditional on the post-Asian Cup phase according to its original date. The options that were discussed included Frenchman Didier Deschamps, the former coach of the French national team, who was presented through agents to the Saudi Federation, without those moves turning into a declared decision regarding changing the technical staff. Denis strengthened his position after leading the Saudi national team to the 27th Gulf Cup title, after defeating the Emirates with two goals to none in the final match. The idea of replacing him raised objections among Saudi fans on social media platforms, who demanded his continuation and criticized the option to sign Martinez based on his experiences with Belgium and Portugal, especially in major tournaments. In Japan, the local federation faces a decision regarding Hajime Moriyasu, who was scheduled to continue until the end of the Asian Cup, with Go Oiwa taking over after that. According to the Korean “Star News”, citing the Japanese “Sponichi”, the Federation may proceed with handing over the task to Oiwa despite the postponement, to avoid reducing the period of its preparation for the upcoming dues, but a technical official confirmed that the decision has not been decided. As for Australia, it faces the issue of continuing Tony Popovic, who chose a short extension to lead the national team until the tournament at its previous date, despite a longer agreement being proposed to him. The Australian News Agency stated, in a report published by The Guardian, that the postponement may require new discussions about extending his association with the national team. In South Korea, the local federation is now required to decide the future of Spaniard Robert Moreno, who was appointed temporary coach with a contract that expires this November, with the possibility of extending it until the Asian Cup. According to Yonhap, the federation intended to evaluate it after 6 international matches, before the postponement forced the decision to be made more than a year before the new date of the tournament. Financial considerations are prominent in Iraq, as Australian Graham Arnold chose to extend his contract for only 6 months, despite the offer of a 4-year agreement. The Vietnamese newspaper Tui Tre reported that his contract expires in February 2027, and that the total monthly salaries of his technical staff range between 150 and 160 thousand dollars. The impact of the postponement extends to Vietnam, where the contract of Korean Kim Sang Sik expires in early 2027, Uzbekistan, whose Italian coach Fabio Cannavaro’s contract expires in October of the same year, and Kuwait, whose Portuguese coach Helio Souza’s contract expires next summer, in addition to the files related to Badou Zaki with Jordan, and Julen Lopetegui with Qatar. Al-Taawoun Saudi Arabia is looking forward to getting close to qualifying for the qualifying rounds in the AFC Champions League 2, when it receives its Jordanian counterpart, Al-Faisaly, on Wednesday, at the “Wolves Park” stadium in the city of Buraidah, as part of the fourth round of the third group, in a confrontation during which the Saudi team seeks to confirm its continental superiority, and compensate for its continuing failures at the local level. Al-Taawoun enters the confrontation leading the group standings with seven points, one point ahead of Al-Rayyan of Qatar, which is in second place, while Al-Faisaly of Jordan occupies third place with three points, and Al-Nahda of Oman is at the bottom of the standings with one point. Al-Taawoun has the opportunity to decide its qualification early if it achieves victory over Al-Faisaly, coinciding with the faltering of Al-Nahda of Oman against Al-Rayyan of Qatar, as the victory of the Saudi team, in exchange for Al-Nahda’s failure to win, will guarantee its passage to the knockout rounds two rounds before the end of the group stage. The Saudi team is looking for its third victory in the tournament, after it succeeded in regaining the top spot in the group during the last round, following its victory over Al-Faisaly of Jordan with two goals to none in the confrontation that brought them together on the latter’s soil. Al-Taawoun waited until the second half to settle that match, after Parfi Goyjon opened the scoring in the 52nd minute, before Faris Al-Ghamdi increased the lead with the second goal in the 77th minute, bringing the Saudi team back with the three points, raising its score to seven points at the top of the group. Al-Taawoun hopes to repeat its superiority over its Jordanian competitor, benefiting this time from the ground staff and the audience, especially since the victory will give it the opportunity to take a decisive step towards the next round, in addition to maintaining the lead in the group in light of the continuous pursuit from Al-Rayyan of Qatar. The picture appears different for Al-Taawoun on the local level, as the team is still searching for its first victory in the Saudi Professional League since the start of the season, despite its better appearance in some recent matches. Al-Taawoun was close to achieving its first victory locally in the twelfth round, after it advanced against Al-Ettifaq until the last minutes, before conceding the equalizer, bringing the confrontation to an end with a score of 1-1, and the team continues to be far from victories in the league. This discrepancy between the results of local and continental cooperation puts the team in front of an additional challenge, as it seeks to invest its Asian successes to enhance the confidence of its players, and maintain the positive path that made it lead its group despite its difficult results in local competitions. On the other hand, Al-Faisaly of Jordan will be a guest of Buraidah, and he realizes that achieving a positive result represents a necessity to maintain his chances of competing for one of the two qualification cards, especially after his loss to Al-Taawoun in the last round. Al-Faisaly occupies third place with three points, four points behind Al-Taawoun, the leaders, and three points behind Al-Rayyan, which is in second place, which makes its confrontation with the Saudi team an important step in reducing the difference and rearranging its cards in the group. The Jordanian team does not enter the match in its best morale, after suffering a local loss to its guest, Al-Hussein Irbid, with a goal to none, on Saturday, in the seventh round of the Jordanian Professional League. Al-Faisaly's loss came at a fatal time, after Salah Al-Farash scored Al-Hussein Irbid's only goal in the third minute of stoppage time in the second half, depriving the hosts of a draw point. Despite this loss, Al-Faisaly maintained its lead in the Jordanian league standings with 14 points, but it looks forward to quickly regaining its balance before the continental confrontation, especially since a new loss to Al-Taawoun will make its position in the group more difficult. The Jordanian team hopes to benefit from the lessons it learned from the first leg, after it was unable to keep a clean sheet during the second half, at a time when it is looking to stop Al-Taawoun’s offensive threat and return with a result that restores its hopes of competition. In the second confrontation of the same group, Al-Rayyan of Qatar will host its counterpart, Al-Nahda of Oman, at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, in a meeting during which the Qatari team will look forward to achieving its third victory and continuing its pursuit of Al-Taawoun at the top of the standings. Al Rayyan occupies second place with six points, after starting its campaign with an exciting victory over Al-Faisaly of Jordan with a score of 4-3, before losing to Al-Taawoun of Saudi Arabia with a score of 1-2, then regaining the tone of victories with a broad victory over Al-Nahda of Oman with a score of 4-1 in the third round. The Qatari team hopes to repeat its victory over Al-Nahda, benefiting from the ground staff and the crowd, which will enhance its chances of qualifying and give it the opportunity to seize the lead if Al-Taawoun falters against Al-Faisaly. As for Al-Nahda of Oman, it enters the confrontation at the bottom of the group standings with one point, which it gained from its 1-1 draw against Al-Taawoun, before losing to Al-Faisaly of Jordan with two goals to none, then to Al-Rayyan by four goals to one. Attention is turning to the results of the two matches, in light of the qualification calculations being tied to facing Al-Taawoun and Al-Faisaly on the one hand, and Al-Rayyan and Al-Nahda on the other hand, as the fourth round may witness the clinching of the first tickets to the knockout rounds, or the conflict will continue until the next rounds.
