Riffa await Gulf Champions League draw
Riffa will learn their opponents in the third edition of the Gulf Club Champions League later this month after the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) confirmed that the tournament draw for the 2026-27 season will be held on August 24.
The draw ceremony will take place virtually at 12pm, with the competition scheduled to run from October 13 until April 30, 2027.
The upcoming edition will mark the biggest tournament in the competition’s history, with participation expanded from eight clubs to 12 teams representing eight Gulf football associations.
Riffa will carry Bahrain’s hopes in the regional competition, joining a field that includes Saudi Arabian clubs Al Ettifaq and Neom, UAE sides Al Nasr and Ajman, Qatar’s Al Duhail and Qatar SC, Iraqi duo Erbil and Al Zawraa, Kuwait’s Kazma, Yemen’s Shaab Hadhramaut and Oman’s Al Shabab.
The participating clubs will be divided into three groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarter-finals alongside the two best third-placed sides. The knockout rounds will then be played over two legs.
The expanded format highlights the continued growth of the tournament, which has seen increasing interest from clubs across the region since its return under the AGCFF. Last season, Bahrain were represented by Sitra, who were eliminated in the group stage, while Qatar’s Al Rayyan went on to claim the 2025-26 title and enter the new campaign as defending champions.
Bahrain have previously enjoyed success in the competition, with Muharraq becoming the kingdom’s first club to lift the regional crown in 2012. The Red Wolves also finished as runners-up in the 1989 edition.
Riffa will now look to build on a successful domestic campaign as they prepare for their return to the Gulf stage under Kuwaiti head coach Mohamed Mashaan.
The Blues finished third in the Nasser bin Hamad Premier League last season with 49 points from 22 matches, while ending the campaign with silverware after defeating Muharraq on penalties to lift the Khalid bin Hamad Cup. They also reached the King’s Cup final, where they suffered defeat against the same opponents.
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