Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia could be postponed by a year amid Houthi attacks

Football’s Asian Cup, hosted by Saudi Arabia, could be moved back a year to 2028 following a series of attacks on the country by Yemen’s Houthis. The continental tournament will be rescheduled “if we need to” but the organisers are in “no hurry” to make a decision, Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said on Thursday. The 2027 Asian Cup is supposed to kick off on January 7 in the Saudi cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and al-Khobar. The kingdom has in recent days come under sustained attack in a dramatic escalation from the Houthis. “We can wait until the end of November,” Al Khalifa told reporters in Zurich on Wednesday about a decision on the fate of the Asian Cup.