The escalation in the Middle East is having a noticeable impact on international sport. Closed airspaces and safety concerns lead to cancellations, postponements and uncertainty – these include Formula 1, football, tennis, basketball and equestrian sports. An overview.
Formula 1: Race in Melbourne should take place as planned
The military attacks in the Middle East pose challenges for Formula 1 before the start of the season in Australia. The organizers of the opening race on Sunday (5 a.m. German time) do not expect this to have any impact on the Grand Prix in Melbourne. The main problem is the transportation of hundreds of employees who work for Formula 1 itself or the racing teams.
“Formula 1 as an organization is very good at moving people around the world. That is their job. And so they were able to implement it, so we don’t expect any impact on our race“, said the managing director of the Australian Grand Prix, Travis Auld. He put the number of those affected at around 1,000 people. Their flights all had to be rebooked.
Instead of traveling to Australia via Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha (Qatar), many people chose Singapore or Hong Kong. Auld assured: “The drivers will be here. The engineers will be here. The team bosses will be here. They are the ones who have been given priority.” In addition, the cars in containers have long been on the route.
Melbourne managing director Travis Auld speaks to the media
There are currently question marks in particular about the fourth race of the season scheduled for April 12th in Bahrain, where Formula 1 tire tests were only canceled at the weekend, and a week later in Saudi Arabia. “As always, we monitor such situations closely and work closely with the relevant authorities“, the media quoted a Formula 1 spokesman as saying.
Football: Iran’s World Cup participation under discussion
The Iranian national team’s participation in the 2026 World Cup is questionable. The World Cup will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico, of all places. According to Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Association, the intensity of attacks by US and Israeli forces does not bode well for the World Cup.
Although he did not speak of a boycott, he announced that senior Iranian sports officials would assess the situation before deciding on measures. So far, no Iranian official has publicly commented on withdrawing from the tournament.
Several football associations threatened by military attacks responded to the escalation. For example, Julian Draxler and his Qatari club Al-Ahli SC are directly feeling the effects of mutual attacks. As the Qatar Football Association announced on Sunday, the games in the Stars League will be postponed indefinitely.
First of all, no football: Julian Draxler in the jersey of the Qatari club Al-Ahli
A game by Cristiano Ronaldo’s football club Al Nassr has also been canceled for the time being. The team from Saudi Arabia was supposed to play at Al Wasl in Dubai this week as part of Champions League Two.
The duel known as the “Finalissima” between the world champions and the Copa America winners is also on the brink: Spain and Argentina are scheduled to meet on March 27th in Doha, Qatar. But the Qatar Football Association has “until further notice“All football activities in the country are suspended. A decision has not yet been made about rescheduling the game.
Tennis: Departure from Dubai as Challenge
After the end of the ATP tournament in Dubai, 40 people involved are still in the United Arab Emirates, according to reports. These include officials, tournament staff and also the professionals Daniil Medvedev, Andrej Rublew and Tallon Griekspoor. They have apparently rejected alternative departures overland to Oman or Saudi Arabia for the time being.
A timely arrival at the next tournament in Indian Wells will probably be difficult for Medvedev and Co. “Nobody knows when we can start” Medvedev said, according to media reports: “It is unclear whether it will take long or not. We’ll just wait and see what happens in the next few hours and days.”
Daniil Medvedev at the ATP tournament in Dubai
Equestrian sports: Million dollar tournament cancelled
The start of the Global Champions Tour equestrian series in Qatar has been canceled due to the armed conflict in the Middle East. This decision was “made after careful consideration of airspace restrictions, participants’ travel schedules and general operational restrictions“, it said in a statement. The season of the world’s most valuable tournament series was originally supposed to open from March 4th to 7th. Prize money of almost one million euros was planned for the tournament.
The notice also states that “all horses and people currently on site are in good health“. Among others, the horses and employees of the Germans Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann, Christian Ahlmann, Philipp Weishaupt and Hans-Dieter Dreher are there. The riders themselves are in Germany and wanted to fly to Qatar at the weekend.
Basketball: chaos at EuroLeague schedule
The armed conflicts also have an impact on the EuroLeague. The game between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Paris Basketball planned for Tuesday had to be canceled. The EuroLeague game between Partizan Belgrade and Dubai Basketball planned for Thursday cannot take place due to the basketball players from Dubai’s limited ability to travel.
Justin Anderson in the Dubai BC basketball jersey
A tournament in the NextGen EuroLeague junior league in Abu Dhabi has already been canceled. And the world association FIBA was also forced to act: all four games in the Asian qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar cannot be played for the time being.
Paralympics: Arrival affected, IPC is monitoring the situation
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) pointed out in a recent statement that the closure of airspace in the Middle East was affecting the travel of some participants. Four days before the official opening ceremony of the games this Friday in Verona, the committee does not wish to comment on the status of individual delegations or actors at this time, it said.
However, one can be assured that intensive work is being done together with the organizing committee to find solutions for those affected. Many teams are already in Europe for training purposes or in preparation camps. In addition, the IPC is closely monitoring the developments and situation in connection with the rocket attacks in the Middle East and is examining possible consequences for the Paralympics.
