Asian

Start date for AFC Cup 2027 moved from January to December due to ongoing Houthi attacks on host nation Saudi Arabia.

Football’s upcoming Asian Cup 2027 tournament in Saudi Arabia has been rescheduled from a January start to December due to the ongoing conflict in the region, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed.

The 24-team competition, which was due to get under way in Riyadh on January 7, 2027, will now begin on December 23, the AFC said in a statement on Tuesday.

Asian football’s governing body announced the decision following “extensive discussions and close consultation with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF)”.

The tournament will now run from December 23, 2027, to January 21, 2028.

“The organising committee for the AFC Asian Cup approved rescheduling the tournament in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions,” the AFC’s statement added.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly come under attack from Yemen’s Houthis since September, with capital Riyadh among the cities repeatedly targeted by missiles.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen reported on Friday that it “intercepted and destroyed” a drone launched by the Houthis towards Saudi Arabia’s Mecca region.

It was also reported that a missile aimed at western Saudi Arabia was earlier brought down, as hostilities between the Riyadh-backed Yemen government and Iran-backed Houthis continue to escalate.

The tournament’s fate hung in the balance in past weeks, with several participating nations expressing concerns about the security situation.

The AFC said while “exceptional circumstances” had been created for the organisation and delivery of the competition as originally scheduled, the postponement became necessary “in the interest of all participating teams, officials, spectators and other stakeholders.”

The AFC will submit the new tournament dates to FIFA for approval from football’s global governing body.

Tsuneyasu Miyamoto says it will be difficult for Saudi Arabia to host next year’s tournament as scheduled.

The ongoing security situation in Saudi Arabia makes it difficult for the country to host football’s 2027 Asian Cup as scheduled, Japan Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto has warned.

Several major sporting events in Saudi Arabia have been cancelled or postponed amid escalating attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, raising doubts over whether the continental tournament can take place as planned from January 7 to February 5 next year.

“Based on what I’ve learned from the news, the situation is still unsafe, so at this point, I don’t think it would be easy to hold the [Asian] Cup there,” Miyamoto told reporters at the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) extraordinary congress in Tokyo.

“I just had a meeting with the Saudi side and they said that their top priority is the safety of the players, the fans, and everyone who would be attending the tournament.”

“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 (to make that decision).”

Asian football chief Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa said last week a postponement until 2028 remained a possibility if necessary, but the local organising committee (LOC) later said it was sticking to 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 LOC had said in a statement last week.

“(The LOC) will 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 cycling’s Urban World Championships were cancelled following a deadly attack on Riyadh’s international airport, which killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300.

Other events have also been disrupted. The Six Kings Slam exhibition tennis tournament in Riyadh was moved from October to December, while FIFA postponed the FIFAe Finals 2026 video game competition in Jeddah until an unspecified date.

The Saudi government has invested heavily in sport through its Public Investment Fund (PIF) in recent years and the Asian Cup was pitched as an early rehearsal for hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2034.

The head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) says the body is endorsing Gianni Infantino for another term as FIFA president.

The AFC has 47 member confederations. Even if all the members do not follow Friday’s direction from Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, those that do could be key to guaranteeing another mandate for Infantino, who leads the governing body of world football and is seeking a fourth term.

The FIFA election is in March. The deadline for candidates to file against Infantino is November 18, and so far, none has filed.

Sheikh Salman, speaking at the AFC’s extraordinary congress in Tokyo on Friday, embraced Infantino with a large hug in front of the membership as he delivered his endorsement.

“We affirm our full commitment to supporting you and your leadership as you seek a new mandate as the FIFA president.” Sheikh Salman said.

“You’ve visited a lot of countries in Asia. I’ve spoken to a lot of members within this continent. I know your feeling, and I think your commitment is clear as well.”

Addressing his remarks to Infantino, Sheikh Salman indicated not every AFC member would go along with the endorsement but most will.

“My feeling is, I’m sure, the feeling of most of my members,” the AFC president said. “And I’ve said that to you.”

A sudden about-face by AFC

This is an abrupt turnaround for Sheikh Salman. Just over two months ago, the AFC joined the football governing bodies of Europe and that of North and Central America in saying Infantino had committed a “fundamental breach of trust”.

Infantino apologised last week in Zurich to FIFA’s 37-member ruling council, which he chairs, for “mistakes” he made in assembling a now-scrapped $4.2bn plan to sell a stake in FIFA events, including the World Cup, to private investors.

Sheikh Salman referenced the differences with Infantino in his speech but glossed over any details.

“Gianni, I want to make it clear: Yes, we had some issues we spoke about in the past,” Sheikh Salman said. “But let’s not relate the two things together. I think the last few days we met in Zurich, you made it clear that there’s a true understanding between us.”

“The past I’m sure is part of our history,” he added, “We’ve all, I’m sure, learned important lessons from it. What matters now is how we move forward together. I think everyone has questions, and I’m sure the answers will be available, whether to us in Asia or the rest of the world. ”

Infantino’s electioneering around the globe

FIFA’s media office has been promoting Infantino’s travels around the world, seeking votes in exchange for millions of more dollars in financial support for small and large football countries.

“Thank you for being here,” Sheikh Salman said to Infantino. “I know you have been everywhere. I don’t know how you can do it. But I’m sure that you set a record for being in almost every country.”

Sheikh Salman then joked that, perhaps, Infantino had a “clone”.

That drew a laugh. But the largest applause came at the end of his brief address when he again repeated his support for Infantino.

“As one Asian family, we are ready to move forward, united in your support, Gianni,” Sheikh Salman added. “I want to make that clear today.”

Infantino accepts AFC’s support

Infantino took the podium after Sheikh Salman and kept his remarks light. But he did acknowledge some errors.

“When you do many things, you do – hopefully, as we did, many good things – you do some mistakes as well,” Infantino said. “The important, however, is, as you said, to learn, to learn always from the experience, from the mistakes, to apologise, to move ahead, to come together, to unite, to build for our future, for your future.”

The largest applause came as he mentioned how, under his leadership, millions more are flowing to FIFA’s patronage network.

“Before I started as FIFA president, each of you – some of you are still [here] and still remember that time – each of you was receiving $1m every four years” Infantino said. “As of the first of January of next year, it will be $25m.”

WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider outlawing school diversity policies that limit Asian American students at magnet programs and selective high schools.

Three years ago, the court ruled that Harvard and other universities may not discriminate on whom they admit based on the race of their applicants. Evidence in that case showed that Asian applicants with very high test scores were often turned down.

But the justices have been divided over admissions rules for highly selective high schools in Boston, New York and Fairfax County, Va., as well as magnet programs for gifted middle school students.

In most instances, judges have said school officials may use “race-neutral” policies to achieve racial diversity. For example, giving an automatic admission to the top 5% of the students in all of a big city’s high schools or its middle schools could achieve greater racial and ethnic diversity.

But the court’s conservatives, led by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito, have condemned such policies as thinly disguised racial discrimination.

Magnet programs exist across the country, including in California and Los Angeles, and were conceived as a form of voluntary integration — a way to get white students to attend the same schools as nonwhite students, without having to resort to forced busing.

The idea was that a special school program would be attractive enough to serve as a “magnet” for white students to enroll at a school they might not otherwise attend. A mix of white and nonwhite students was seen as a benefit to the nonwhite students, because white students would be sharing the fate of the nonwhite students.

Asian students were frequently part of that original equation on the nonwhite side of the ledger and counted with other students classified as nonwhite, such as Black or Latino students. But in terms of student achievement, Asian students have performed more like white students, frequently surpassing white students academically.

One subset of magnet schools requires a selective admissions process, and these are at the center of the current dispute.

The court agreed to hear an appeal from parents in Montgomery County, Md., who were upset by a sharp drop in Asian students at its four magnet schools for gifted students.

For a decade, the school board had been troubled that fewer than 15% of the students at its magnet schools were Black or Latino, even though they made up about half of the student population.

In contrast, Asian students were less than 15% of the county’s student population but made up about half of the enrolees at the magnet programs.

After several years of debate, school officials dropped the use of a countywide competitive test and chose top performing students at all of its middle schools using a lottery.

That prompted a lawsuit that reached the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Fairfax County in northern Virginia had adopted a somewhat similar policy for the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology. A federal judge ruled for Asian parents and said their students had been deprived of a “level playing field” in competing for admission.

But the 4th Circuit, by a 2-1 vote, disagreed and said Asian American students were still winning more seats than their percentage of the school population.

The Assn. for Education Fairness, the parents group in Montgomery County, lost for the same reason in the 4th Circuit. The number of admitted Asian students had declined, but their percentage remained well above their share of school population.

They appealed and urged the Supreme Court to rule on their case and to clarify the law.

“School districts across the country have overhauled admissions criteria for competitive public schools after concluding that existing systems produced undesirable racial enrollment patterns,” they said.

They said the court should end this type of racial discrimination against Asian students.

However, a longtime champion of admissions policies that rely on social and economic fairness said he hoped the court would side with Montgomery County.

“The Supreme Court has long disfavored racial preferences and pointed to race-neutral programs that look at factors like socioeconomic disadvantage as the right way to do affirmative action,” said Richard D. Kahlenberg, director of the American Identity Project at the Progressive Policy Institute.

He said the Maryland school board followed that rule.

“It essentially provided an admissions break to students based not on race, but on the economic disadvantage of the elementary school they attended. The question now opened is whether the court will stand by precedent or move the goal posts. Is the court opposed to racial preferences, or to racial diversity itself?”

Los Angeles Unified, the nation’s second-largest school system, has an extensive magnet system, with 66 whole-school magnets and 268 magnet centers within a larger campus.

At this point, many of the magnets provide no discernible integration benefit and are viewed instead as inducements for any student to enroll. Many magnets are nearly all students of color because few white students apply.

A few schools, however, have more applicants than spaces, and the district relies on “the Magnet Priority Point System and the need to maintain a racially balanced enrollment, and by available space.”

Parents must mark one federally recognized race or ethnicity on the application, or it won’t be processed. A family gets points, for example, if a student applied unsuccessfully for a magnet in the past.

In L.A. Unified, 53 schools are designated for students rated as “gifted,” and there are four campuses with programs for highly gifted students, typically identified by a professional evaluator.

Available recent data for the highly gifted program at North Hollywood High indicated that the largest percentage of students, about 38%, were Asian. Overall, the district’s enrollment is about 3.5% Asian.

The justices will hear arguments in the case early next year.

Savage reported from Washington and Blume from Los Angeles.

Asian Cup preparations continue for January, but Asian Tour delays golf’s Saudi Invitational after Houthi attacks.

The Asian Cup football tournament is on track to take place in Saudi Arabia early next year, local organisers say, but golf’s Asian Tour has postponed the Saudi International indefinitely in the aftermath of a series of attacks on Riyadh.

Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack, which took place on Saturday on Riyadh’s international airport. It killed 14 people and ⁠wounded more than 300.

Australia also withdrew its team from the urban cycling World Championships on Friday, citing safety concerns over travelling to Riyadh, where the event is scheduled to take place in early November.

The Six Kings Slam exhibition tennis tournament in Riyadh has already been moved from October to December while FIFA on Thursday postponed the FIFAe Finals 2026 video game competition in ‌Jeddah until an unspecified future date.

In that environment, serious questions were being asked about whether the 24-team Asian Cup could still go ahead in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to February 5.

Three Saudi Pro League matches, including one featuring Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, were postponed this week while Al-Nassr’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League game on Monday was delayed by an hour after Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence said it had intercepted a missile fired towards Riyadh.

AFC chief Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa said earlier this week that a postponement of the continental championships until 2028 was possible if necessary, but the local organising committee (LOC) said on Friday that it was sticking to 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,” it said in a statement.

The LOC “will continue to monitor developments ⁠relevant to the tournament and ensure the appropriate conditions are in place for its successful delivery”.

Attacks in Saudi Arabia disrupt sport calendar

The $5m Saudi International, which is sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), is the flagship event on the Asian Tour and had been scheduled to take place at Riyadh ⁠Golf Club on November 18-21.

“The decision to postpone was taken following an assessment of the organisational and logistical challenges associated with hosting the tournament and ensuring the event is ⁠delivered to a standard befitting its international stature,” an Asian Tour statement ⁠said.

AusCycling said its decision to withdraw the Australian team from the urban World Championships was made “with the safety and wellbeing of our athletes and staff our highest priority”.

The Australian government is advising travellers to “reconsider” trips to Saudi Arabia in general and Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport in particular “due to recent ‌security incidents”.

The Saudi government has invested heavily in sport through the PIF in recent years, and the Asian Cup was pitched as an early rehearsal for hosting football’s FIFA World Cup in 2034.

South Korea signals cuts to military exemptions for gold medallists after backlash over athletes’ Asian Games comments.

South Korea’s sports minister says the government will review the military service exemption for gold-medal-winning athletes after public backlash to some controversial comments from winners at the Asian Games.

Three players from the men’s football team came under fire for comments following South Korea’s 1-0 win over Japan in the Asian Games final last weekend in Japan.

All three apologised, but a broader debate had already reignited over whether athletes should receive special treatment for sporting achievements, particularly as common citizens, as even members of BTS – the globally famous K-pop group – had to complete their mandatory service.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the furore surrounding the comments at the Asian Games.

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young on Wednesday said the alternative military service exemption system for artists and athletes “will inevitably have to be scaled back”.

“It is true that the system has contributed to helping outstanding artists and athletes maintain and develop their abilities,” Choi told the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.

“However, the values attached to fairness and public perceptions of military service have changed. I agree that the system should be comprehensively reviewed once again.”

What does military service look like in South Korea?

Most South Korean men must complete 18 to 21 months of military service by the age of 28.

Since 1973, however, Olympic medallists and Asian Games gold medallists have been able to replace the full term with a supplementary service, which consists of three weeks of basic training.

Three of the footballers, including Yang Min-hyuk, who assisted the winning goal against Japan, made comments that were viewed as insensitive.

“The medal and winning the championship weren’t important. I played the game with only one thing in mind – the reward of a military service exemption,” Yang, who joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2025 and is currently on loan at Belgian club Westerlo, said.

Newcastle United midfielder Park Seung-soo posted a photo on social media showing him wearing a cap associated with soldiers who have completed their service. In a post-match interview, captain Lee Gi-hyuk held up his gold medal and said, “I’m not going to the military.”

What has been said elsewhere in South Korea about the controversy?

A number of politicians, including Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Power Party, said it was time to change the system.

“Some players’ remarks after the match were outrageous,” Ahn posted on social media. “Even the captain bragged about not having to serve in the military. Are all the young people who enlist every year fools?”

Former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min said the flippant comments had provoked resentment and asked: “Is it really fair that BTS has to serve in the military while Asian Games gold medallists are exempt?”

In a Korea Herald editorial on Tuesday, the newspaper declared that the practice was outdated.

“South Korea now stands shoulder to shoulder with the world’s leading nations,” the newspaper said. “The days when finishing first in Asia could meaningfully enhance the country’s national prestige are long gone. It is time to reconsider.”

That was the message from Defence Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna during a press briefing in Seoul.

“Ultimately, we have plans to cut back or scrap the supplementary service, including one designed for artists and athletes,” Chung said.

What other athletes gained military-service exemptions?

The footballers were among many winners from the Asian Games who qualified for the military exemption.

Golfer Tom Kim won the men’s singles on Saturday after flying across the Pacific when the Presidents Cup competition ended so he could compete in Japan. Asked about the military exemption, he took the gold-medal approach.

“I’m more proud that I’m able to bring a medal for my country,” he said.

Sixteen South Korean baseball players are also exempt after defeating Japan 3-1 in the Asian Games final. So are three South Koreans who won gold in esports, an event at the Asian Games.

Teenage athletes have headlined some of the biggest Asian Games triumphs, leading their countries to historic gold medals, breaking records and cementing their legacy as formidable forces in the field.

Far from being intimidated by competitors double or triple their age, these schoolchildren remained cool and unfazed as they cruised to gold at their Asian Games debut.

Many are already familiar with the pressure and expectations of the world stage and have dominated their sport all season.

Al Jazeera Sport looks at some of the stars who left their mark in Japan:

Yu Zidi, 13

China: Swimming 

At just 13, Yu was named female Most Valuable Player (MVP), as she bagged three gold medals and broke as many Asian Games records in a fairytale debut.

The schoolgirl stormed to victory in the women’s 200m butterfly, 200m and 400m individual medley (IM) and had a comfortable lead over her competitors.

Her time of two minutes and 6.10 seconds (2:06.10) in the 200m IM stands as a world junior record and second-fastest time ever.

“I don’t think I am what people describe as a prodigy,” she said after being crowned MVP. “I will continue to train hard, push myself and work alongside young athletes across Asia to inspire more young people to love and take part in sports, especially swimming.”

Zhang Zhanshuo, 19

China: Swimming

Zhang held up seven fingers after his 400m freestyle win to count out his gold medals at the Games – the most at this edition, and more than what 27 of the 45 participating nations had in their medal tally at the conclusion of the event.

He set Games records in the 400m and 800m freestyle, an Asian record in the 200m, and helped power China to gold and Asian records in the men’s 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays.

But the 19-year-old has bigger victories in sight.

“The Asian Games is not the goal. I’m still aiming for the Olympics and competing with the best,” he said.

The teenager’s haul helped China sign off from swimming with 30 golds out of 41 medal events in the pool, with chief rival Japan a distant second with seven titles.

Shin Ohashi, 17

Japan: Swimming 

Ohashi broke the world record in the men’s 200m breaststroke (2:04.83) in front of a home crowd to become the first swimmer under the 2:05 mark.

The gold added to his title in the 100m breaststroke shared with China’s Dong Zhihao, bronze in the 50m breaststroke, and silver in the mixed and men’s 4x100m medley relays.

The teenager said he was surprised and honoured that Olympic champion Leon Marchand knew who he was, after the Frenchman described the 17-year-old as a “scary” prospect ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“I respect him because I know just how strong he is. But if I want to win, he’s someone I know I’ll have to beat.”

Ohashi’s world record performance came just a week after the teenager recovered from COVID-19.

Yan Ziyi, 18

China: Athletics 

Yan was already javelin world number one and Asian record holder when she stepped onto the field for her Games debut – her first and only throw of 70.46 metres was enough for gold and a Games record.

It was the sixth-best of all time and well ahead of Olympic champion and home hero Haruka Kitaguchi’s 62.70m.

Yan is closing in on the world record of 72.28m set by Barbora Spotakova in 2008. In May, she hurled a world-leading, record-breaking 71.74m to open an unprecedented season.

Chen Yujie, 17

China: Athletics

Chen stormed to a new Games record in the women’s 100m en route to her first gold as she announced herself as the new sprint queen in Asia.

“I have no limits,” was her response when asked how much faster she hopes to run.

She followed up her podium finish with a silver in the 200m and gold in the women’s and mixed 4x100m relays.

Taiju Goto, 17

Japan: Athletics

Goto narrowly missed gold in the men’s 400m hurdles, but his 47.93s was enough for a world under-18 best time, Asian under-20 best time, and a new personal best.

The teen star has run sub-50 seconds eight times this season alone, an impressive feat for a 17-year-old. His Asian Games silver added to the World Under-20 one he bagged in August.

Kumkum Mohod, 17

India: Archery

Mohod scripted history for India when she became the first Indian to win an individual recurve archery gold at the Games. The 17-year-old helped India to gold in the women’s team recurve, and partnered with Dhiraj Bommadevara for mixed team silver.

Mohod’s gold was no stroke of luck; she defeated South Korea’s reigning world champion and Olympic medallist Kang Chaeyoung in the quarterfinals before dominating China’s Zhu Jingyi in the semifinals.

“Ever since I’ve made it to the national team, I’ve been visualising this moment. I had visualised shooting an X, and that is exactly what happened,” she told reporters after the match, according to Indian media.

Anahat Singh, 18

India: Squash

World junior champion Anahat Singh has been India’s finest in the sport for several years now. Despite only being 18, Aichi-Nagoya was Singh’s second Asian Games outing after competing at Hangzhou 2023, where she won two bronze medals in the mixed doubles and women’s team events.

This time round, she won a silver in the women’s singles against world number five Sivasangari Subramaniam of Malaysia. However, her semifinal match against Japan’s Satomi Watanabe was what she called the “best win” of her career after producing a stellar comeback to defeat the world number six.

Yuki Kurihara, 11

Japan: e-sports

At just 11 years of age, e-sports prodigy Kurihara became the youngest gold medallist in Asian Games history when he won Puyo Puyo Champions.

“I’m really happy. The gold medal is really beautiful, shiny and heavy,” Kurihara said after his final, where he barely broke a sweat.

Kurihara started playing Puyo Puyo in his first year of primary school – where he still studies – and soon started competing and winning in tournaments. He obtained his pro licence in April this year and regularly beats adults, often triple his age.

Ku Yong-yan, 12

Taipei: Skateboarding

Ku took silver in the men’s skateboarding park with 87.33 points, and was just one of several teenagers – in his case, a pre-teen – who medalled in skateboarding at the Games.

Japan’s Izuru Nagahara, 15, took gold in the event. China’s Zhu Yuanling, also 15, won gold in the women’s street skateboarding competition.

China’s Cao Shiqi finished fourth in women’s skateboarding park and was the youngest athlete in China’s delegation at the Games.