"A mixed draw for Kuwait's representatives in the 'Challenge League'"

The draw for the 2026-2027 AFC Challenge League, held on Thursday at the continental federation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, placed Kuwait’s representatives, Al-Qadsia and Al-Arabi, in two different groups.

Al-Qadsia, known as “The Yellow,” was drawn in Group 3, which will be hosted in Kuwait. They will face India’s Gokulam Kerala, Bangladesh’s Fortis, and Tajikistan’s Regar-TadAZ. Meanwhile, Al-Arabi, known as “The Green,” will play their Group 2 matches in Dushanbe, competing against hosts Istiklol (Tajikistan), Lebanon’s Al-Najma, and Syria’s Al-Humraa.

Al-Qadsia will begin their campaign in the tournament, in which they are participating for the first time, with a match against Fortis on October 17, followed by fixtures against Regar-TadAZ and Gokulam Kerala on October 20 and 23, respectively.

Al-Arabi will start their journey with a clash against Al-Humraa on October 17, then face hosts Istiklol on October 20, and conclude their group stage with a match against Al-Najma on October 23 in the third round.

The participating teams have been divided into five groups of four clubs each, with three groups in the West region and two in the East region.

In the East region, Group 4 will be hosted by Indonesian club Borneo Samarinda, who will face Philippines’ Davao Aguilas, Chinese Taipei’s Tainan City, and either Myanmar’s Yangon United or Laos’s Lao Toyota.

Meanwhile, Group 5 will feature Indonesia’s Persib Bandung and Philippines’ Manila Digger, alongside hosts Shan United (Myanmar), Chinese Taipei’s New Taipei City Hang Yuan, and either Brunei’s Kasuka or Timor-Leste’s Karketu Dili, competing for two spots in the quarter-finals.

The group stage matches will take place between October 17 and 24, 2026. The quarter-finals and semi-finals, played on a home-and-away basis, will be held from March 3 to 18 and April 7 to 15, 2027, respectively. The final will be played on May 8.