The Socceroos’ quest for continental glory will likely be delayed by a year with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East set to postpone January’s Asian Cup.
The tournament is due to kick off on January 7 in Saudi Arabia, but that plan is appearing unlikely to proceed following a pair of attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which left 14 dead and more than 300 injured.
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The AFC are expected to hold an extraordinary meeting in Tokyo on October 22 and it is understood the state of the Asian Cup will be one of the key topics discussed, as will be upcoming Asian Champions League fixtures.
“We can wait until the end of November,” Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim 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.”
‘Well just f*** you off’ | 00:43
The Saudi Pro League has already been impacted with Australian manager Ange Postecoglou and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr having their clash with Al Ahli, which was due to be played this weekend, rescheduled to March 6.
Al-Nassr’s Asian Champions League match against Uzbek side Neftchi Fergana in Riyadh on Monday was delayed by an hour following a missile fired at the Saudi capital was intercepted.
It was announced overnight that golf’s Asian Tour has postponed its season finale – the Saudi International – which was due to be held from November 18-21 in Riyadh.
That followed tennis’ Six Kings Slam exhibition event being pushed back from next week to December and the WTA Finals were also due to be held in Riyadh next month but will instead be staged at Indian Wells in the US.
Saudi Arabia’s F1 race in April was cancelled due to the conflict, while international football has already been affected with the FIFAe (electronic) World Cup due to be held in Jeddah next week postponed.
A Football Australia spokesman said they are “ closely monitoring the situation in Saudi Arabia ahead of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027”.
“The safety and wellbeing of our players, staff and supporters remains paramount. Our experienced security team is actively monitoring developments and providing regular updates. Risk assessment is part of our planning for every national team camp, and it will be a key focus of our preparations for January,” the spokesman continued.
“We remain in regular contact with Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) and will continue our dialogue with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) regarding its plans for the tournament, guided by the advice of the Australian Government.”
An Asian Cup postponement also creates a dilemma for the Socceroos given manager Tony Popovic’s contract is through to the 2027 Asian Cup.
Popovic, who oversaw this year’s World Cup campaign, declined a four-year deal through to the 2030 World Cup in favour of a shorter deal.
It is not the first time the Socceroos, who won the regional tournament at home under Postecoglou in 2015, have had to adapt their Asian Cup plans.
The last edition was pushed back to 2024 after China were due to host in 2023 but withdrew a year prior due to its zero Covid policy and Qatar stepped in as host instead.