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. The bid for the construction was won by Saudi Aramco and the contractor was a joint venture between Al Muhaidib Contracting Company and Belgian construction company BESIX Group. The stadium field surface is paspalum turfgrass marketed as Pure Dynasty Seeded Paspalum and provided by Atlas Turf International.

In Their Own Story

The air inside King Abdullah Sports City hums with electric anticipation before kickoff. Under the vast, open sky of Jeddah, thousands of voices merge into a single chant that echoes off the white concrete arches. A young fan in a vibrant yellow jersey grips his scarf tightly, looking up at the massive pitch where legends once walked and new heroes are being forged. As the referee blows the whistle, the roar erupts—a thunderous wave of support for Al Nassr that shakes the very foundations of this modern coliseum, proving that while the stadium is new, the heart beating within it remains timeless.

Reader's Guide

The stadium hosted matches of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup. In 2025, it hosted the final of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite. It is set to be a venue for the 2034 FIFA World Cup with 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 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. Outside the main stadium, the city has three separate football fields and four small indoor arenas, six tennis courts, a large indoor arena, a main mosque and six smaller mosques, and a comprehensive media center. The stadium hosted WWE's Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27, 2018, and WWE Super ShowDown on June 7, 2019. It was scheduled to host the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight final in May 2018, but that final was moved to Moscow. The WBSS super middleweight final between George Groves and Callum Smith took place on September 28 at a 10,000 capacity arena at the complex. A heavyweight boxing match dubbed 'Rage on the Red Sea' between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua was confirmed for the stadium in June 2022 and took place on August 20, 2022. From 2023 to 2027, the Next Gen ATP Finals are scheduled to be hosted in the stadium.

Did You Know?

• The stadium opened on May 1, 2014, hosting the final of the 2014 King's Cup tournament between Al-Ahli SC and Al-Shabab, with Al-Shabab winning 3–0 in front of 62,241 fans.
• The opening match was attended by then-King Abdullah, then-Crown Prince Salman, and then-Deputy Crown Prince Muqrin.
• The stadium hosted the first ever 50-man Royal Rumble match at WWE's Greatest Royal Rumble event in 2018.
• The stadium's field surface is Pure Dynasty Seeded Paspalum turfgrass provided by Atlas Turf International.