AFC confirms Saudi venues for 2027 Asian Cup ahead of final qualifiers and April draw

March 2 – With 10 months to go until kick-off, the Asian Football Confederation has confirmed the match schedule and venue plan for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027, mapping out a 30-day tournament that will run from January 7 to February 5 across Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar.

Riyadh will sit at the centre of proceedings, with its 72,000-capacity King Fahd Sports City Stadium staging both the opening match – featuring hosts Saudi Arabia – and the final on February 5.

The venue will also host four more group fixtures, a Round of 16 tie and a quarter-final, cementing its status as tournament hub with eight total matches.

The capital’s supporting venues will also carry their fair share of the workload. The King Saud University Stadium and Kingdom Arena – both 26,000 seats – will each host multiple group matches and knockout fixtures, while Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University Stadium and Al Shabab Stadium round out Riyadh’s five-venue cluster.

Jeddah will add two more stadiums to this roster. The King Abdullah Sports City Stadium – the larger of the two with a capacity around 60,000 – will host group matches through to a semi-final on February 2, while the 27,000-seater Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium will play host to further group and Round of 16 fixtures.

In the Kingdom’s Eastern Province, its new 45,000-seat Al Khobar Stadium – edging closer to completion after a $1billion development – will feature at every stage except the final, including a semi-final on February 1.

Fans will have to wait until April 11 to learn match pairings and kick-off times, which will be set after the final draw at the At-Turaif World Heritage Site in Riyadh.

Four qualification spots are still open, which will be decided by the end of this month.

For the first time in Asian Cup history, teams will this time operate from dedicated base camps, each assigned a hotel and training site for the duration of their stay – a move which brings the competition closer to the logistical model used at recent World Cups in an effort to reduce travel strain and streamline planning across what is a geographically spread host footprint.

Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1772461300labto1772461300ofdlr1772461300owedi1772461300sni@g1772461300niwe.1772461300yrrah1772461300