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Saudi Arabia 1st in Asia to qualify 2029 FIFA Club World Cup

Saudi Arabia has become first in Asia to qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup following Al Ahli FC’s victory over Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale in the AFC Champions League Elite Finals Jeddah 2025

Sunday May 4, 2025 2:07 PM, Sports Desk

Jeddah: Saudi Arabia has become first in Asia to qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup following Al Ahli FC’s victory over Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale in the AFC Champions League Elite Finals Jeddah 2025.

Al Ahli Football Club defeated 2-0 Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale in the AFC Champions League Elite Finals Jeddah 2025 Saturday.

With this Saudi Arabia became the first in Asia to secure a confirmed representative in the expanded 32-team Club World Cup edition.

Asia will send four continental champions from the 2025 to 2028 editions in the 2029 Football World Cup.

Another Historic Fate

In addition to the Club World Cup berth, Al Ahli has also booked a historic place in the newly introduced FIFA Intercontinental Cup, marking the first time a Saudi club qualifies for the global competition.

Al Ahli is set to face the winner of the Oceania–Africa playoff, which will be contested between the OFC Champions League winner and the CAF Champions League champion — either Egypt’s Pyramids FC or South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns.

The match will be played in Saudi Arabia, and the winner will lift the Africa-Asia-Oceania Championship — a title last won by Al Ahly of Egypt following their win over UAE’s Al Ain.

Should Al Ahli win that tie, it would progress to the Challenge Cup Final, where they’ll meet the champion of North and Central America (CONCACAF) or South America (CONMEBOL), with a place in the Intercontinental Cup Final at stake.

The Intercontinental Cup Final — scheduled for December 18, 2025, will pit the Challenge Cup winner against the UEFA Champions League winner, with the host country to be announced after all continental champions are confirmed.

As AFC Elite champions, Al Ahli earned continental glory and a global ticket and also secured automatic qualification to the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite, regardless of their domestic league finish.

(With inputs from Saudi Gazette.]

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