Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced details of the draw ceremony for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup finals, scheduled to take place on May 9 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Twenty-four teams will participate, including the United Arab Emirates, which is in Pot 2.
The draw ceremony is scheduled to take place at the historic Salwa Palace in the Al-Turaif district. It will begin at 10:00 PM Abu Dhabi time (9:00 PM Saudi time), amidst widespread anticipation from Asian football fans.
The UAE national team will compete in the tournament in Pot 2, alongside Qatar, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, and Syria, according to the latest FIFA rankings released on April 1st. This gives the UAE a chance to play in a relatively balanced group stage.
The tournament will feature 24 teams, 23 of which qualified through the continental qualifiers that concluded last March. The final spot will be decided by a playoff match between Lebanon and Yemen in June 2026.
According to the Asian Football Confederation, the teams will be divided into four pots, with six teams in each pot, before being drawn into six groups of four teams each.
Level 1 includes the national teams of Saudi Arabia (the host), Japan, Iran, South Korea, Australia, and Uzbekistan.
In contrast, the third level includes the national teams of Bahrain, Thailand, China, Palestine, Vietnam, and Tajikistan, while the fourth level includes the national teams of Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Indonesia, Kuwait, and Singapore, in addition to the winner of the match between Lebanon and Yemen.
The tournament is scheduled to begin on January 7, 2027 at King Fahd Sports City Stadium in Riyadh.
