Saudi Arabia Determined to Proceed with Asian Cup as AFC Releases Match Schedule

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has demonstrated its commitment to holding the 2027 AFC Asian Cup as scheduled by releasing the match schedule for the tournament, which is set to kick off in Saudi Arabia next January, despite growing instability in the Middle East.

The AFC and the Asian Cup Organizing Committee finalized and unveiled the kickoff times and venues for the 2027 tournament on October 26 (local time).

The upcoming AFC Asian Cup, the first to be hosted in Saudi Arabia, will feature 24 teams playing a total of 51 matches across eight stadiums in three cities: five in Riyadh, two in Jeddah, and one in Al Khobar.

The tournament is scheduled to open on January 7 next year at 8:00 PM in Riyadh with the Group A group-stage match between Saudi Arabia and Palestine.

The group stage, divided into six groups, will run through January 20, with the Round of 16 matches beginning two days later.

The quarterfinals will take place on January 28 and 29, followed by the semifinals on February 1 and 2.

The team that will claim the throne of Asian football will be decided in the grand final on February 5 at 8:00 PM.

Both the opening match and the final will be held at the King Fahd Sports City Stadium in Riyadh, which has a capacity of 72,000.

South Korea will compete in Group E alongside the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Vietnam, and Yemen.

South Korea will play its first match against Yemen on January 10 at 1:30 PM (7:30 PM Korea time) at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, and face the UAE in the second match on January 15 at 1:30 PM at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

This will be followed by the final group-stage match against Vietnam on January 20 at 4:30 PM (10:30 PM Korea time) at the Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University Stadium in Riyadh.

The release of the schedule comes amid mounting concerns over whether the tournament can be hosted normally, as Saudi Arabia's security situation has grown unstable following recent attacks by Yemen's pro-Iran Houthi rebels that damaged airports and energy facilities.

Several international sporting events scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia have already faced disruptions, being canceled or postponed consecutively due to security concerns.

Recently, the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, which was scheduled to be held in Riyadh this December, was postponed to March next year, and the AFC Champions League Elite match between Al-Nassr (Saudi Arabia) and Al Wasl (UAE), which was also set to take place in Riyadh on the 26th, was postponed.

Regarding the AFC and the tournament organizing committee's release of the detailed Asian Cup match schedule under these circumstances, the Associated Press interpreted it as "another measure to reassure football associations across Asia that tournament preparations are proceeding without disruption."

(Photo courtesy of AFC, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.