Asian Cup draw postponed as Middle East conflict continues

The draw for January's Asian Cup finals, which was due to be held in Riyadh on April 11, has been postponed, the Asian Football Confederation announced on Thursday.

Officials have rescheduled the event to a later date "to ensure the undisrupted attendance of all stakeholders at the final draw ceremony," the governing body said in a statement.

Numerous sporting events in the region have been postponed or cancelled due to the ongoing conflict in the region, which started when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran almost a month ago.

Saudi Arabia is due to host the 24-team quadrennial continental championship for the first time with the last remaining round of qualifiers taking place on Tuesday.

Qatar are the defending champions and have already secured their berth at the finals alongside four-times winners Japan, plus fellow World Cup qualifiers South Korea, Iran, Jordan, Australia and Uzbekistan.

The AFC announced on Tuesday that the latter stages of the Asian Champions League Elite would go ahead as planned in Jeddah, with matches running from April 13 to 26.