May 5 – Having been turned back at the Canadian border on the way to FIFA’s Congress in Vancouver last week, this weekend the Iranians will be present at a major football gathering at the draw for the Asian Cup 2027 in Saudi Arabia.
Taking place on Saturday at the magnificent Salwa Palace in the At-Turaif District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Asia’s top 24 sides will be drawn into six groups for the 19th edition of the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) blue riband men’s national team championship.
The finals will be played across the Saudi Arabian cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar from January 7 to February 7.
The 24 qualified nations include Palestine while Lebanon, currently being under attack by Israel, will in the draw but still have to play off against Yemen for the final slot. That match is scheduled for next month.
The draw will be led by AFC General Secretary Datuk Seri Windsor John who will have some of Asia’s footballing greats to assist him from both the East and West regions of the AFC’s vast geographic footprint.
AFC Player of the Year Salem Al Dawsari, from Saudi Arabia, will lead the West region representation while Japanese great Hidetoshi Nakata will lead the East.
The 34-year-old Al Dawsari (who has twice been named Asian player of the year) has lead his club side Al Hilal to global recognition and has more than 100 caps for Saudi Arabia.
Nakata, 49, was the first player to be named AFC Player of the Year twice – in 1997 and 1998. Alongside a club career that saw him win the Asian Cup Winners Cup as well have a Serie A winners medal with Roma, he also made 77 appearances for his country, playing at three World Cups.
Also assisting the draw will be Jordan head coach Jamal Sellami (Morocco), who will lead the country to its first World Cup in June 2025. Jordan were runners-up to Qatar at 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar.
Other luminaries to appear include standout female referee Kim Yu-jeong, from South Korea, Saudi para footballer Yazan Seefen, and influencers Li Yuhang of China, a former professional player, and Vietnam’s Nguyen Minh Hai, who is also an experienced football commentator.
The draw promises to be spectacular and an early statement of what hosting a major international event can look like in Saudi Arabia (it will host the World Cup in 2034).
Inevitably the military presence and aggression of the US in the region looms like the grim reaper over the middle east as it does over the international politics of football generally. The presence of Iran’s football officials assumes that safe passage is possible, and the US has not restarted its bombing of Iran’s cities and carrying out president Donald Trump’s threat that the country could be “blown off the face of the earth” if US vessels are attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.
Perhaps he really will try to do that. But it still won’t stop football nations playing each other in this competition in 2027 in a sport that is so often far from perfect but has at its core a purity of intention, inclusivity, equality respect, and, perhaps most importantly joy – much of which is so sadly missing pre-World Cup 2026 in the USA.
Pot 1 (Top Seeds)
- Saudi Arabia (Host)
- Japan
- Iran
- Korea Republic
- Australia
- Uzbekistan
Pot 2
- Qatar
- Iraq
- Jordan
- UAE
- Oman
- Syria
Pot 3
- Bahrain
- Thailand
- China
- Palestine
- Vietnam
- Tajikistan
Pot 4
- Kyrgyz Republic
- North Korea
- Indonesia
- Kuwait
- Singapore
- Winner of Lebanon/Yemen (to be played June 2026)
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