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AFC postpones indefinitely 2027 Asian Cup Draw in Saudi Arabia due to Middle East conflict

The Draw for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup was initially scheduled to be held on April 11 in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has decided to postpone indefinitely the draw procedure for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup finals citing security reasons for all involved parties over the ongoing military conflict in the Middle East, the AFC’s press office said in a statement on Thursday.

The Draw for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup was initially scheduled to be held on April 11 in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.

The 2027 AFC Asian Cup is scheduled to be played at football arenas in Saudi Arabia between January 7 and February 5, 2027 encompassing 24 national football teams.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February·28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.

The Assembly of Experts of the Islamic Republic of Iran later announced the election of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the assassinated ayatollah, as the country’s new Supreme Leader.

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