Anticipation in Al-Qadisiyah and Al-Arabi... for the AFC Challenge League draw

All eyes are on the group stage draw for the 2026-2027 AFC Challenge League, which will be held tomorrow, Thursday, at the headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, featuring the two major Kuwaiti clubs, Al-Qadsia and Al-Arabi.

While Al-Arabi (“The Yellow”) is participating in this tournament for the first time, their traditional rivals have played in the last two editions, being eliminated from the competition at various stages.

Winning the title is significant because it qualifies the champion for the next edition of the AFC Champions League Two, as was the case with Al-Kuwait, winners of the previous edition of the Challenge League.

Al-Qadsia’s participation in the Challenge League comes after finishing third in the previous season’s Zain Premier League, while Al-Arabi qualified after being eliminated from AFC Champions League Two, having lost their preliminary round match to Indian hosts East Bengal 4-1.

The 20 participating clubs will be divided into five groups of four teams each—three groups in the West region and two in the East. Teams will compete in a single-leg round-robin format within the group stage, which will be held in a centralized hub format between October 17 and 24, 2026.

A principle protecting domestic clubs will be applied, ensuring that no two teams from the same country are placed in the same group. The draw program will also work to prevent any potential conflicts.

Following the group stage, quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played in a two-legged home-and-away format between March 3 and 18, and April 7 and 15, 2027, respectively. The final match will take place on May 8.

Al-Arabi and Al-Qadsia recently returned to the country and have begun training in preparation for the start of the local season in the Zain Premier League on the 25th of this month. Al-Ahli (“The Green”) will begin their league campaign with a tough match against titleholders Al-Kuwait, while Al-Arabi (“The Yellow”) face an uncertain test at Al-Fahaheel Stadium.

Both teams held training camps in Turkey, where they played several friendly matches, before Al-Arabi departed directly for India to face East Bengal.