AFC announces dates for 2027 Asian Cup

2025-01-07
10:09:24

Riyadh, January 7 - The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Local Organizing Committee for the Saudi AFC Asian Cup 2027 announced the dates for the tournament during the period from January 7 to February 5, 2027, as the tournament kicks off with the opening match of the 19th edition of the Asian Cup on Thursday, January 7, 2027, while the final match of the tournament will be held on Friday, February 5.
The Asian Football Confederation and the Local Organizing Committee have approved the tournament to be held in eight stadiums, distributed across three host cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al-Khobar.
The list of announced stadiums includes three main stadiums in the three cities, including King Fahd International Stadium, which is currently undergoing comprehensive renovation work according to the highest specifications, as one of the main stadiums in Riyadh, and King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah (Al-Jawhara), which recently hosted the opening and final of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup, in addition to the new architectural masterpiece in Al-Khobar.
The list also includes King Saud University Stadium, Al-Shabab Club Stadium, and Kingdom Arena Stadium in Riyadh, in addition to Imam Muhammad bin Saud University Stadium, which is awaiting a development project that includes increasing the capacity of the stands to 21,000 fans, besides developing all facilities and the main stadium to be compatible with the requirements of the Asian Football Confederation, and Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, which hosted a number of matches for the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup.
For his part, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Football Federation Yasser bin Hassan Al-Misehal considered the announcement of the dates and stadiums of the 2027 Asian Cup an important stage in the stages of the hosting project, and said: "The local organizing committee for the tournament is working to ensure the organization of an exceptional version of the largest continental tournament, to live up to the aspirations of the Asian continent, thanks to the generous support of the wise leadership - may God protect it - and the continuous follow-up of His Highness the Minister of Sports, His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, who enabled the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to be among the ranks of football federations."
"I also extend my thanks to His Excellency Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation, and all employees of the continental federation, for their continuous support and cooperation.”, he added.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aims to host the 2027 Asian Cup to complete the journey of hosting major sports events as one of the fruits of investment and empowerment of the sports sector since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030, of which sports are one of its main pillars. The Kingdom has recently hosted a number of important football events, most notably the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup, in addition to the Spanish and Italian Super Cups, in addition to its upcoming hosting of the final rounds of the AFC Champions League Elite for the 2024-2025 / 2025-2026 seasons, and major sports hosting at the level of various sports such as the Formula 1 race and the Dakar Desert Rally.

It is noteworthy that 18 Asian teams have snatched the ticket to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, namely: Saudi Arabia (host country), Australia, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Iran, Qatar, the Emirates, Japan, South Korea, Oman, Palestine, Jordan, Bahrain, China, Indonesia, North Korea, Kuwait and Kyrgyzstan, while 6 seats remain for which 24 teams are competing in the final stage of the Asian Cup qualifiers.