The 2027 AFC Asian Cup will be the 19th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The tournament involves 24 national teams after the expansion in 2019. It will be held in January 2027 in Saudi Arabia.[1][2]

2027 AFC Asian Cup
كأس آسيا 2027
Bid logo
Tournament details
Host countrySaudi Arabia
Dates15 January – 8 February
Teams24 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)10 (in 4 host cities)
2023
2031

The tournament will return to its usual four-year cycle, after the 2023 edition was postponed to 2024 due to the removal of China as hosts, and high summer temperatures in Qatar.

Qatar are the two-time defending champions.

Host selection

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AFC confirmed that the following member associations expressed their interests to host 2027 Asian Cup before the 30 June 2020 deadline,[3] and they gave their necessary letters of undertaking in November.[4] On 17 October 2022, the AFC Executive Committee announced that the host of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup would be chosen by the AFC Congress at its next meeting on 1 February 2023 in Manama, Bahrain.[5][6] However, India, one of the last two bidders, withdrew on 5 December[7] leaving Saudi Arabia as the only remaining bidder. On 1 February, the AFC confirmed that Saudi Arabia won the bid and will host the tournament for the first time.[1]

Venues

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Location of the proposed host cities of the SAFF's 2034 FIFA World Cup bid

The following are the host cities and venues selected for Saudi Arabia's bid:[8]

City Stadium Capacity
Dammam Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium 25,226
Dammam Stadium (New) 40,000
Khobar Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium 24,440
Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City Stadium 65,000
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium 27,000
Riyadh King Fahd Sports City Stadium 70,000
King Saud University Stadium 46,319
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium 46,865
Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium 46,979
New Murabba Stadium (New) 46,010

Teams

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  Teams qualified
  Teams can still qualify
  Teams failed to qualify
  Not an AFC member

The first two rounds of qualification will act as part of the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Saudi Arabia, which received automatic qualification for the Asian Cup as host, is also expected to participate in the qualifiers to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.[9]

Northern Mariana Islands, whose football association became the 47th full AFC member during the confederation's 30th Congress on 9 December 2020,[10] was only eligible to enter the qualification tournament for the Asian Cup, but was ultimately excluded.[11]

Qualified teams

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Team Method of
qualification
Date of
qualification
Finals
appearances
First
appearance
Last
appearance
Previous best
performance
  Saudi Arabia Hosts 1 February 2023 12th 1984 2023 Winners (1984, 1988, 1996)
  Australia Second round Group I winners 26 March 2024 6th 2007 2023 Winners (2015)
  Iraq Second round Group F winners 26 March 2024 11th 1972 2023 Winners (2007)
  Iran Second round Group E winners 26 March 2024 16th 1968 2023 Winners (1968, 1972, 1976)
  Uzbekistan Second round Group E runners-up 26 March 2024 9th 1996 2023 Fourth place (2011)
  Qatar Second round Group A winners 26 March 2024 12th 1980 2023 Winners (2019, 2023)
  United Arab Emirates Second round Group H winners 26 March 2024 12th 1980 2023 Runners-up (1996)
  Japan Second round Group B winners 2 April 2024 11th 1988 2023 Winners (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011)
  South Korea Second round Group C winners 6 June 2024 16th 1956 2023 Winners (1956, 1960)
  Oman Second round Group D winners 6 June 2024 6th 2004 2023 Round of 16 (2019)
  Palestine Second round Group I runners-up 6 June 2024 4th 2015 2023 Round of 16 (2023)
  Bahrain Second round Group H runners-up 6 June 2024 8th 1988 2023 Fourth place (2004)
  Jordan Second round Group G winners 6 June 2024 6th 2004 2023 Runners-up (2023)
  China Second round Group C runners-up 11 June 2024 14th 1976 2023 Runners-up (1984, 2004)
  Indonesia Second round Group F runners-up 11 June 2024 6th 1996 2023 Round of 16 (2023)
  North Korea Second round Group B runners-up 11 June 2024 6th 1980 2019 Fourth place (1980)
  Kuwait Second round Group A runners-up 11 June 2024 11th 1972 2015 Winners (1980)
  Kyrgyzstan Second round Group D runners-up 11 June 2024 3rd 2019 2023 Round of 16 (2019)

Group stage

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Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Saudi Arabia (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 A4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 15 January 2027. Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Saudi Arabia  Match 1
Match

Match
Match

Match
Match

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 B4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: January 2027. Source: AFC

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 C1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 C4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: January 2027. Source: AFC

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 D2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 D4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: January 2027. Source: AFC

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 E1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 E2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 E3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 E4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: January 2027. Source: AFC

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 F1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 F2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 F3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 F4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: January 2027. Source: AFC

Ranking of third-placed teams

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The four best third-placed teams from the six groups advanced to the knockout stage along with the six group winners and six runners-up.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A Third place Group A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 B Third place Group B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C Third place Group C 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 D Third place Group D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 E Third place Group E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 F Third place Group F 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 15 January 2027. Source: AFC

Knockout stage

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In the knockout stage, extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.

Bracket

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Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
January –
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Winner Match
 
January –
 
Winner Match
 
 
 
February –
 
 
 
Winner Match
 
January –
 
Winner Match
 
 
 
 
 
 
Winner Match
 
January –
 
Winner Match
 
 
 
8 February –
 
 
 
Winner Match 49
 
January –
 
Winner Match 50
 
 
 
 
 
 
Winner Match
 
January –
 
Winner Match
 
 
 
February –
 
 
 
Winner Match
 
January –
 
Winner Match
 
 
 
 
 
 
Winner Match
 
January –
 
Winner Match
 
 
 
 
 
 

All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Round of 16

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Match 37

Match 38

Match 39

Match 40

Match 41

Match 42

Match 43

Match 44

Quarter-finals

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Match 45

Match 46

Match 47

Match 48

Semi-finals

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Match 49

Match 50

Final

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Winner Match 49Match 51Winner Match 50

Marketing

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Sponsorship

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Official Global Partners

Official Global Supporters

Broadcasting rights

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The broadcasters around the world that acquired the rights to the tournament included:

Territory Broadcaster(s) Ref.
  Argentina TVP and TyC Sports
  Australia Paramount+ and Network 10 [15]
Baltic States TV Start
Balkan Sport Klub
  Bangladesh T Sports
  Brunei Astro SuperSport
  Brazil ESPN
  Bulgaria Diema Sport
Caribbean ESPN
  Canada DAZN
  China iQiyi and Migu
  Cambodia Hang Meas
  East Timor MNC Media
  Fiji Mai TV
  France Triller TV
  Germany Sportdigital
  Georgia Slik Sports
  Hungary SportTV
  Hong Kong HOY TV
  India Fancode [16]
  Indonesia MNC Media
In-flight/in-ship Sport 24
  Iraq Al-Rabia'a
  Israel Sport 5
  Italy OneFootball
  Japan TV Asahi and NHK BS1
  Kazakhstan Sport+
  Kyrgyzstan KTRK
  Laos KJSMWorld
Latin America ESPN and DSports
  Middle East and North Africa (exc. IRN, IRQ, KSA, KUW, QAT and UAE) beIN Sports
  Macau M Plus Live
  Mongolia Premier Sports
  Malaysia Astro SuperSport and RTM
  Maldives PSM
  Myanmar Canal+
Nordic C More Sport
  New Zealand Paramount +
Pacific Island YouTube (free of the world)
  Papua New Guinea TV Wan
  Philippines MNC Media
  Portugal Sport TV
  Qatar Al Kass
  Romania Antena
South Asia Football Sports Development Limited
  San Marino OneFootball
  Saudi Arabia Shahid and SSC [17][18]
Sub-Saharan Africa StarTimes
  Singapore MediaCorp
  South Korea Coupang Play and tvN Sports [19]
  Spain DAZN
  Tajikistan TV Varzish and TV Sports
  Taiwan ELTA
  Tanzania Azam Sports
  Thailand T Sports 7
  Turkey D-Smart
  Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Sports
  Ukraine Sport1
  United Arab Emirates AD Sports and Starzplay
  United Kingdom Triller TV
  United States Paramount + and CBS Sports
  Uzbekistan MTRK
  Vietnam K+ [20][21]

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Saudi Arabia confirmed as hosts of the AFC Asian Cup 2027". Asian Football Confederation. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Men's International Match Calendar 2023-2030" (PDF). FIFA. April 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Five Member Associations express interest to host 2027 AFC Asian Cup". aseanfootball.org. ASEAN Football Federation. 2 July 2020.
  4. ^ "All five 2027 Asian Cup bidders meet latest deadline to submit documents". Inside the Games. Dunsar Media Company Limited. 13 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Qatar to host AFC Asian Cup 2023; India and Saudi Arabia shortlisted for 2027 edition". Asian Football Confederation. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  6. ^ "AFC Executive Committee (term 2023-2027): Final list of candidates confirmed". AFC. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  7. ^ "AIFF Statement". Asian Football Confederation. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  8. ^ "04 Stadiums". AFC Asian Cup 2027 Bid Book (PDF). Saudi Arabian Football Federation. 28 December 2020. p. 38.
  9. ^ "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". Asian Football Confederation. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015.
  10. ^ "AFC Congress approves NMIFA's membership". AFC. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Six teams to contest Qualifiers Playoff for Saudi Arabia 2027". AFC. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  12. ^ "AFC and NEOM announce global multi-year partnership extension". the-AFC. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  13. ^ "AFC and Qatar Airways announce global partnership". the-AFC. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  14. ^ "AFC and KONAMI sign new sponsorship and licensing deal". the-AFC. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Guide: AFC Competitions on 10 Play and Paramount+". 10play.com.au. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  16. ^ "AFC partners with Fancode to stream Asian football competitions in India". AFC. 11 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  17. ^ Nicholson, Paul (6 April 2021). "Saudi Sports Company wins AFC media rights in regional new deal". Inside World Football. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  18. ^ "AFC enters into landmark agreement with Saudi Sports Company".
  19. ^ "AFC confirms media rights deal for the 2025-2028 cycle with Korea Republic's Coupang Play". the-AFC. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  20. ^ "K+ sở hữu bản quyền các giải bóng đá của AFC". vnExpress (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  21. ^ "AFC teams up with Canal+ Group in Vietnam for the 2025-2028 cycle". the-AFC. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
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