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.
“Things can change very quickly for better or worse in the region, and it is a question of seeing what happens,” he added.
“If we need to make a decision then we will, but we could move back a year to 2028 if we need to.
“But at the moment we are monitoring the situation and everything is on schedule.”
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr saw their Asian Champions League match delayed by an hour on Monday after Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence said it had intercepted a missile fired towards Riyadh.
Three matches in Saudi domestic football, including one involving Al-Nassr, were postponed this week.
(Aljazeera)