
Women's Asian Cup qualifiers postponed due to Israel-Iran conflict, Singapore FA says
Women's Asian Cup qualifiers scheduled for next week in Jordan have been postponed because of the air war between Iran and Israel, the Football Association of Singapore said on Friday.
Advertisement
The Singapore team had been expected to travel to Amman to face Jordan as well as Iran, Lebanon and Bhutan in the preliminary rounds for the 2026 finals, which are to be held in Australia next March.
The qualifiers had been scheduled to kick off on Monday and finish on July 5.
'The Lionesses will face a delay to the start of their AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 qualifying campaign, after the Asian Football Confederation announced the postponement of all Group A matches,' the association said in a statement.
'The AFC cited the ongoing situation in the region and logistical concerns raised by several Participating Member Associations as reasons for the change.
Advertisement
'A new neutral venue is expected to host the group fixtures, but has yet to be confirmed.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
South Korea lifts 26-year ban on foreign goalkeepers in the K League
A 26-year ban on foreign goalkeepers in South Korea's top football league has been lifted for the start of the 2026 season. Only Korean goalkeepers have been allowed to play in the K League, the oldest professional domestic league in Asia, since 1999. The rule was introduced in a bid to protect homegrown talent when there were only 10 professional clubs. The K League announced after a board meeting in Seoul this week that because there were now 26 professional clubs in the top two tiers of competition, there was enough room for international goalkeepers. 'The increase in the number of clubs means that there are enough opportunities for domestic goalkeepers to play even if foreign goalkeepers are allowed,' the board said in a statement. 'We considered the fact that with foreign player registrations restricted, the salary increase rate of domestic goalkeepers has increased disproportionately to outfield players.' There were reportedly concerns, because of the increased size of modern rosters which contain three or four goalkeepers, that there was a shortage of quality keepers in the country.


South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hongkonger thriving in Sweden after football degree course at Real Madrid
If it sounds far-fetched that Matthew Mak Pak-hei has targeted winning the Champions League, the Hongkonger's ascent to a plum European football job suggests he is entitled to dream big. Mak, 25, is into his third season as an analyst for Swedish champions Malmo, only seven years after he began 'looking into tactics for fun'. He got there by studying for a degree at Real Madrid, but was initially fixated on the methods of Pep Guardiola, perfected at Barcelona and now practised at Manchester City. 'There were debates about whether he was really good, or a fraud who always had top players,' said Mak, who as a City fan favours the former argument. 'I didn't start with any ambitions to be in the industry; I just began looking at more teams and tactics as a hobby.' During his Global Studies degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mak estimates he watched up to 500 matches per year. He began writing for Total Football Analysis magazine, and Malmo head coach Henrik Rydstrom, then in charge of Kalmar, admired his work. Real Madrid's Luka Modric takes a corner at the club's Bernabeu Stadium. Photo: AFP 'I liked how his team played, and he liked how I saw the game,' Mak said. 'He didn't have much analytical support, so we spoke a lot.'


South China Morning Post
19 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Women's Asian Cup qualifiers postponed due to Israel-Iran conflict, Singapore FA says
Women's Asian Cup qualifiers scheduled for next week in Jordan have been postponed because of the air war between Iran and Israel, the Football Association of Singapore said on Friday. Advertisement The Singapore team had been expected to travel to Amman to face Jordan as well as Iran, Lebanon and Bhutan in the preliminary rounds for the 2026 finals, which are to be held in Australia next March. The qualifiers had been scheduled to kick off on Monday and finish on July 5. 'The Lionesses will face a delay to the start of their AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 qualifying campaign, after the Asian Football Confederation announced the postponement of all Group A matches,' the association said in a statement. 'The AFC cited the ongoing situation in the region and logistical concerns raised by several Participating Member Associations as reasons for the change. Advertisement 'A new neutral venue is expected to host the group fixtures, but has yet to be confirmed.'