JEDDAH — The Saudi Arabia U-23 national football team is scheduled to begin its 2026 AFC U-23 Championship campaign today, January 6, 2026, with a Group A opening match against Vietnam. The fixture is set to kick off at 19:30 local time at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City in Jeddah, according to the official competition calendar released by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF).
The tournament, hosted by Saudi Arabia from January 6 to January 24, 2026, serves as a primary platform for elite youth development within the Kingdom. As the host nation, Saudi Arabia enters the competition with a focus on defending its regional standing and evaluating talent for the senior national team pipeline. The Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City, the venue for tonight’s opener, has a seating capacity of approximately 27,000 and has undergone recent upgrades to meet Asian Football Confederation (AFC) international standards.
According to SAFF directives, the U-23 squad has undergone intensive preparatory camps to ensure readiness for the three-week tournament. In addition to the opening match in Jeddah, the 2026 events season in the Kingdom is being supported by national carrier Saudia, which confirmed today an expansion of international flight connectivity to facilitate fan travel for major sporting events in Riyadh and Jeddah.
Official attendance figures for the opening match are expected to be released following the final whistle. Following tonight’s encounter, the Saudi U-23 team will continue its group stage progression, while domestic league play in the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) is concurrently scheduled to resume later this week with key matchups including Al-Nassr versus Al-Qadsiah on January 8.