Al-Qadsia hosts its group in the Asian Challenge League

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced that Al-Qadsia Club will host its group in the new edition of the AFC Challenge League, having met all the requirements to host group-stage matches. The group-stage matches will be played in a centralized format to determine the teams that qualify for the knockout rounds.

Al-Ahli and Al-Qadsia will represent Kuwait in the competition, while Al-Kuwait Club will participate in the AFC Champions League Two.

The group-stage draw for the AFC Challenge League is scheduled to take place next Thursday at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, in the presence of club representatives.

The West Asia region’s group stage will feature 12 teams divided into three groups. The top team from each group, along with the best runner-up, will advance. The group-stage matches will be held between October 17 and 23, 2026.

The draw will be conducted across four seeding pots. Al-Qadsia and Al-Ahli will be in Pot 1, alongside India’s Gokulam Kerala FC. Pot 2 will include Lebanon’s Nejmeh and Ansar, as well as Turkmenistan’s Ahal FK. Pot 3 will feature Tajikistan’s Istiklol Dushanbe and Regar-TadAZ Tursunzoda, along with Bangladesh’s Fortis FC. Pot 4 will comprise Syria’s Al-Karamah and Al-Ittihad Aleppo, and Bhutan’s Paro FC.

The host clubs for the groups are Al-Qadsia (Kuwait), Istiklol Dushanbe (Tajikistan), and Paro FC (Bhutan).