Saudi Arabia Stages Asia Cup Final Round on Foot, Players Walk Full Tournament Distance Through Desert Camps
Organisers announced the Asia Cup would be contested by marching the squads between host cities, with Premier League clubs asked to supply reserve walkers.
The Asia Cup will be replaced by a walking tour of the Arabian Peninsula, organisers said on Thursday, with all sixteen national squads required to cover the full distance between host venues on foot before the first whistle.
The Asian Football Confederation confirmed that teams will leave their training camps in staggered columns and advance through the desert in daily stages, carrying their own kit and water. Each stage will be officially timed and logged by marshals on bicycles, and any squad arriving late will forfeit a group match on the spot.
Premier League clubs, who had been braced for a summer of player injuries, have been asked to second their own coaching staff to the route. Several clubs have already issued boot-fitting schedules, and one south coast side has reportedly ordered four hundred pairs of walking shoes for its academy.
Local authorities in the eastern province have been instructed to erect shaded rest stations every fifteen kilometres. Officials said the stations will double as fan zones, and that a crowd of spectators will walk alongside each column for the duration of the journey.
A federation spokesman told reporters the decision reflected a commitment to fair play. "No team will be able to say it arrived fresh," he said. "Every player will know exactly what the others have endured."
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