Hala football!
The Kingdom’s love for football is no hidden secret. The sport is considered a part of the city’s very lifeline and plays a massive role in Saudi’s lifestyle.
After hosting world class events like the FIFA Club World Cup, Saudi Arabia has won the bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034. However, the next decade is not going to be void of footie action in the Kingdom because the highly competitive and awaited AFC Asian Cup 2027 is coming to Saudi.
The adrenaline-fueled championship is the second-oldest continental football championship in the world and will feature some of the biggest teams in the Asian Football Confederation.
Defending champions and second-time winners Qatar will arrive in the Kingdom along with 22 teams to bring passion, action, and good-natured aggression to the Saudi stadiums.
So brush off on your cheers and chants. Here is everything you need to know about the next AFC Asian Cup.
AFC Asian Cup 2027

The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition for the Asian Football Confederation that crowns the continental champion of Asia.
The Asian Cup is held once every four years and has generally been dominated by top teams like Japan (four times), Iran, Saudi Arabia (three times each), South Korea and Qatar (twice each). The other teams which have achieved success are Australia (2015), Iraq (2007) and Kuwait (1980).
AFC Asian Cup 2027 location
The championship will be held in three major cities and across eight fantastic stadiums.
- Riyadh
- King Fahd Sports City Stadium: Seats 70,000 spectators
- Kingdom Arena: Seats 26,000 spectators
- King Saud University Stadium: Seats 25,000 spectators
- Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University Stadium: Seats 21,000 spectators
- Al Shabab Stadium: Seats 14,000 spectators
- Jeddah
- King Abdullah Sports City Stadium: Seats 60,000 spectators
- Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City: Seats 25,000 spectators
- Al Khobar
- Al Khobar New Stadium: Seats 45,000 spectators
AFC Asian Cup 2027 dates
The almost-month-long event will kick off on Thursday, January 7 and blow the final whistle on Friday, February 5, 2027.
AFC Asian Cup 2027 tickets

Tickets for the nail-biting event will drop closer to the championship. Keep checking Destination KSA to learn when they do.
AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers
A total of 24 teams are set to qualify including the host nation, Saudi Arabia. 18 of the 24 have been determined through the on-going qualifier matches with the runner-ups and winners from each group qualifying for the tournament.
- Saudi Arabia- Host Nation
- Australia
- Bahrain
- China
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- North Korea
- Oman
- Palestine
- Qatar: Defending champions
- South Korea
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
Sports and Saudi

The Kingdom’s sports calendar is completely packed for the coming years. In 2025 alone, Saudi Arabia will play host to the Jeddah Grand Prix for the 2025 F1 Championship, The Saudi Cup, and not one but two UFC events including UFC Fight Night and UFC Power Slap. There is also the Esports Olympics happening in the capital city as well as the Beterbiev v Bivol rematch.
Thu Jan 7-Fri Feb 5, 2027. Riyadh, Jeddah, and Khobar. the-afc.com.