Asian Cup draw postponed as conflict continues in Middle East

[p]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.[/p][p]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.[/p][p]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.[/p][p]Qatar are the defending champions and have already secured their berth at the finals alongside four-time winners Japan, plus fellow World Cup qualifiers South ‌Korea, Iran, Jordan, Australia and ​Uzbekistan.[/p][p]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 ⁠13th to ‌26th.[/p]