Japan Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto warned on Friday that ongoing security challenges in Saudi Arabia could prevent the country from hosting the 2027 Asian Cup.
Multiple major sporting competitions in the kingdom have faced cancellations or delays due to escalating attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. These incidents have created uncertainty around the continental tournament, scheduled to run from January 7 to February 5.
Speaking to reporters in Tokyo at an extraordinary congress of the Asian Football Confederation, Miyamoto stated that the current environment is unsafe.
Based on what I have learned from the news, the situation is still unsafe, so at this point, I do not think it would be easy to hold the Asian Cup there, Miyamoto told journalists.
He said he held discussions with Saudi representatives regarding the matter. They said that their top priority is the safety of the players, the fans, and everyone who would be attending the tournament, he said.
They said they would work with the AFC to decide whether the tournament can go ahead, so they did mention that it would take some time, Miyamoto added.
Asian football chief Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa stated last week that delaying the tournament until 2028 was an option if required. The local organising committee subsequently insisted it was maintaining the original schedule.
Preparations across all organisational and operational areas are progressing according to the approved schedule, including work on venues, facilities and supporting services, the committee said in a statement last week.
The committee said it would continue to monitor developments relevant to the tournament and ensure the appropriate conditions are in place for its successful delivery.
Earlier this month, golf’s Asian Tour postponed the Saudi International indefinitely, and the Urban World Championships for cycling were called off following a deadly attack on Riyadh’s international airport that killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300.
Other fixtures have suffered disruption too. The Six Kings Slam exhibition tennis tournament in Riyadh was shifted from October to December, and FIFA postponed the FIFAe Finals 2026 video game competition in Jeddah to an unspecified date.
