Gulf Cup Draw to Be Held in Jeddah

TDT | Manama

Email : hussainm@newsofbahrain.com

The draw for the 27th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup (“Khaleeji 27”) will take place on Tuesday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, ahead of the tournament scheduled from September 23 to October 6.

The ceremony will be held at Cultural Square, within the Arts Center of the Red Sea International Film Festival.

Matches will be played across two venues: King Abdullah Sports City Stadium and Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium.

Eight national teams will compete: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia (hosts), Oman, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, and Yemen.

Teams will be placed into four seeding pots based on the latest FIFA rankings released on April 1. Pot 1 includes Qatar (55th) and Iraq (57th), Pot 2 features Saudi Arabia (61st) and the UAE (68th), Pot 3 contains Oman (79th) and Bahrain (91st), and Pot 4 consists of Kuwait (134th) and Yemen (149th).

Each group will contain one team from each pot, with sides from the same pot unable to meet in the group stage. As hosts, Saudi Arabia will lead Group A, while the UAE will head Group B as the second seeded team.

The tournament will feature two groups of four teams in a single round-robin format, with the top two from each group advancing to the semi-finals.

In the last four, the Group A winner will face the Group B runner-up, while the Group B winner meets the Group A runner-up. The winners will advance to the final to decide the champion.