Al-Hilal await decision on hosting matches at Kingdom Arena

Al-Hilal's players celebrate winning the Riyadh Season Cup at Kingdom Arena. (@Alhilal_EN)
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Updated 12 February 2024
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Al-Hilal await decision on hosting matches at Kingdom Arena

  • The Riyadh club will find out on Monday if this season’s remaining games of the Roshn Saudi Pro League and AFC Champions League can be held at their new home  

RIYADH: Two football delegations are scheduled to visit the Kingdom Arena stadium on Monday to determine its suitability to host Al-Hilal’s Roshn Saudi League and AFC Champions League matches for the remainder of the 2023/2024 season, Arriyadiyah has reported.

The publication quoted sources close to the club who said the first delegation visiting the stadium will consist of representatives from the Asian Football Confederation and Saudi Arabian Football Federation, accompanied by an official from Al-Hilal. The second delegation includes representatives of the Employment Department of the Ministry of Sports and the Saudi Pro League.

The two delegations had submitted their observations on the stadium’s preparedness after previous visits, and Al-Hilal has since implemented the recommendations, the publication reported on Sunday.

The club is hoping to move their matches from Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium to the Kingdom Arena location, starting with the fixtures against Al-Raed on Feb. 18 and Sepahan of Iran on Feb. 22.

The stadium was inaugurated on Jan. 29 when Al-Hilal welcomed Inter Miami, led by Lionel Messi, for the Riyadh Season Cup, a match that the hosts won 4-3. The second match at the venue saw Al-Hilal beat Al-Nassr 2-0 to win the three-team tournament.

The Kingdom Arena stadium was built in a record time of three months and can accommodate 26,000 spectators. The pitch is 68 meters by 105 meters, with a fully retractable roof at a height of 47 meters. The venue is also fully air conditioned and has 20 VIP boxes.


Kane helps Bayern past Leipzig into German Cup semis

Updated 12 February 2026
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Kane helps Bayern past Leipzig into German Cup semis

  • Bayern join defending champions Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg in the last four of this season’s competition

MUNICH, Germany: Harry Kane scored a penalty and Luis Diaz struck again as Bayern Munich beat RB Leipzig 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the German Cup semifinals for the first time since 2020.
Already on the wrong side of two Bayern thumpings this season, Leipzig were much improved but the hosts grabbed hold of the match with two goals in four second-half minutes.
Bayern join defending champions Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg in the last four of this season’s competition.
Kane’s penalty was his 39th goal in all competitions for Bayern this season, while Diaz’s goal was his fifth in his past three matches.
Winners of this competition a record 20 times, 14 more than any other club, Bayern had failed to make it past the quarter-finals since 2020, when they beat Leverkusen in the final. 

Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane is fouled by Leipzig's Austrian midfielder #14 Christoph Baumgartner during the German Cup (DFB-Pokal) quarter-final football match between FC Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig in Munich, southern Germany on February 11, 2026. (AFP)


Leipzig had won two of the past four German Cups but Bayern had form over the visitors this season, winning their two Bundesliga clashes by a combined score of 11-1.
Leipzig pressured the hosts early and were celebrating a goal after just four minutes, but an acrobatic Christoph Baumgartner strike was disallowed for a narrow offside.
Bayern immediately made the most of the let-off, Kane forcing a last-ditch clearance from Ridle Baku with the Leipzig goalkeeper laying on the turf.
The home side gradually wrestled control of the match and were unlucky not to take the lead with 57 minutes gone when Leipzig ‘keeper Maarten Vandevoordt denied Serge Gnabry with a stunning save.
Bayern were in front just five minutes later, Kane converting from the spot after Vandevoordt felled an advancing Josip Stanisic in the box.
Kane’s spot-kick, his fifth goal versus Leipzig this season, was his 12th penalty in all competitions this campaign.
Bayern’s goals this season have come in bursts and the Bavarians scored again just four minutes later, when Michael Olize found Diaz on the counter to help book a spot in the final four.
The German Cup final will be held at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on May 23.