Japan May Pull Out of Asian Cup!

The Japan Football Association may withdraw from participating in the 19th Asian Cup for security reasons.

According to ambassador Arjan; The 2027 Asian Nations Cup is scheduled to be hosted by Saudi Arabia in January, and concerns are increasing following the military escalation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Several members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), including South Korea, Australia and Japan, while expressing concern about this situation, have announced that they are closely monitoring the current situation.

According to Ambassador Arjan, the Japanese news site "news.jp" wrote, referring to the intensification of military tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen and the events that happened in the Middle East; While there are high hopes for the team to win the title, the host country, Saudi Arabia, is facing political instability.

Although the possibility of canceling the tournament or changing the venue has been raised, the AFC is still determined to hold the tournament in the same country.

In response to this situation, the Japan Football Association (JFA) officially announced on October 10 that it will withdraw from the 2026 FIFA e-World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia.

The deterioration of the security situation in the region is the main reason for this decision, and the continuation of this situation until January 2027 can also affect the schedule of the Japanese national team.

Meanwhile, a reporter from the local media "Arab News" reported that the Asian Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia as scheduled and noted that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has taken a relatively mild and lenient approach towards the host country, Saudi Arabia.

This point of view is due to the fact that local institutions and organizations such as "Neom", "Saudi Visit", "Aramco" and "Al-Bik" are financial sponsors of the Asian Football Confederation.

Danilo, the reporter of "All Asian Football" media, also commented in response to these reports: "It is not surprising that the Saudi sponsors insist on holding the tournament despite the ongoing military conflicts. Half of the Asian Football Confederation is under the influence of Saudi financial sponsors.

According to "news.jp" report; If the Asian Football Confederation continues to insist on holding the Asian Nations Cup in Saudi Arabia despite the political instability, it is possible that the Japanese national team will withdraw from this tournament.

Japan is in group F of the 19th edition of the Asian Nations Cup with the teams of Qatar, Thailand and Indonesia. This tournament is scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia from January 17 to February 16 this year.