• Hosts Iraq were placed with Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman in Group A at the draw ceremony held in Basra
Qatar were drawn in Group B along with defending champions Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates for next year’s 25th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup in Basra, Iraq.
In Group A, hosts Iraq were placed with Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman at the draw ceremony, which was held in Basra yesterday. The competition, which features teams from eight Gulf states, had been due to run from December 24, 2021 to January 7, 2022 but was postponed to January 6 to 19, 2023. The details of fixtures and venues will be announced later.
Three-time champions Qatar, who are currently preparing to make their FIFA World Cup debut at home, should be favourites for the title despite the presence of 10-time winners Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain. Felix Sanchez’s men had bowed out in the semi-final stage in the last edition held in Qatar in 2019, losing to Saudi Arabia, who were then beaten in the final by Bahrain for their maiden title.
The draw ceremony yesterday was attended by many top officials including President of Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) and Qatar Football Association (QFA) Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani, Iraq’s Minister of Youth and Sports Adnan Dirjal, Governor of Basra Asaad Abdulameer al-Eidani and AGCFF Secretary-General Jassim al-Rumaihi.
QFA was represented by Hani Ballan, member of the QFA Executive Office, Mansoor al-Ansari, Secretary-General of QFA, and Fahd Thani, QFA’s Director of the Development Department during the draw for the tournament.
“The draw ceremony was the first step towards staging the 25th Gulf Cup. AGCFF carried out talks with the Local Organising Committee on all organisational matters and final arrangements for hosting this tournament. Co-ordination with the concerned authorities was also conducted to allow citizens of GCC countries to travel to Iraq without visas during the tournament,” AGCFF Secretary-General al-Rumaihi said.
He also revealed the prize money for the tournament. “There is a prize for the first place in the tournament, which is $1mn while runners-up will get $750,000. Invitation will also be sent to the FIFA President to attend the tournament, which will follow the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” al-Rumaihi added.
The draw ceremony was conducted by Iraqi broadcaster Zainab Rabie with “Sinbad the Sailor” revealed as mascot of the tournament. The Gulf Cup is organised every two years, with Bahrain hosting the inaugural edition in 1970. Apart from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have also won the event three times. Oman and the UAE triumphed in two editions each. Iraq is hosting the tournament for the second time in its history after the first in 1979, when it hosted the fifth edition in Baghdad and went on to win the title.
Qatar Football Association and Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani with Iraq’s Minister of Youth and Sports Adnan Dirjal (right) and Governor of Basra Asaad Abdulameer al-Eidani (left) at the Arabian Gulf Cup draw ceremony in Basra, Iraq, yesterday.