King Abdullah Sports City

Lore & Background

The city was named after Abdullah, King of Saudi Arabia when the stadium opened. The main stadium (King Abdullah International Stadium) is used for football, reaching a full capacity of 62,241 spectators. It is the biggest stadium in Jeddah. Additionally, it is the 10th biggest stadium in the Arab world, and one of the biggest stadiums in Asia.

Surrounding the main stadium are smaller sports venues. It also hosts athletics and indoor sporting events in indoor arenas. The stadium also hosted matches of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup. In 2025, the stadium hosted the final of the newly revamped 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite.

It is set to be a venue for the 2034 FIFA World Cup and has a proposed capacity of 58,432 people, where it will host fixtures in the group stage, round of 32, round of 16, and quarterfinals. The stadium will undergo some minor refurbishments for the tournament. It is also set to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, specifically the group stage, round of 16, quarterfinals, and a semifinal.

Reader's Guide

The bid for the construction was won by Saudi Aramco and the contractor for this project was a joint venture between Al Muhaidib Contracting Company and Belgian construction company BESIX Group. The company also provided an independent evaluation of the performance of local staff and the event safety officer (provided by Sword Security) during the inaugural event at the KASC stadium. This led to a significant number of safety and security recommendations and the appointment of a dedicated Stadium Manager.

The stadium field surface is paspalum turfgrass marketed as Pure Dynasty Seeded Paspalum and provided by Atlas Turf International. Outside the main stadium, the city has three separate football fields and four small indoor arenas also used for football. It also has six tennis courts and a large indoor arena for sports and other purposes. The city has a main mosque and six separate smaller mosques.

The city is further equipped with a comprehensive media center, in which spacious rooms are used for press conference for players, coaches, and football personalities.

Did You Know?

• The city opened officially on May 1, 2014, hosting the final of the 2014 King's Cup tournament between Jeddah's Al-Ahli SC and Riyadh's Al-Shabab, in front of 62,241 fans.
• The stadium hosted WWE's Greatest Royal Rumble event on April 27, 2018, with over 60,000 people in attendance.
• On October 8, 2017, a deal was agreed for the complex to host the final of the World Boxing Super Series: Cruiserweight tournament in May 2018, though the final was later rescheduled to Moscow.
• A heavyweight boxing match dubbed 'Rage on the Red Sea' saw Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua fighting for the second time on August 20, 2022, at King Abdullah Sports City.
• From 2023 to 2027, the Next Gen ATP Finals are scheduled to be hosted in the stadium.