AGCFF announces schedule of 25th Gulf Cup matches
Basra International Stadium. Photo: GP smart stadium
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Competitions Committee of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) announced on Saturday the schedule for the 2023 Arab Gulf Cup matches, which will be held in the southern Iraqi city of Basra early next year.
The 25th Gulf Cup will start on January 6, 2023, and will last until January 19, with the participation of eight teams divided into two groups.
The first group includes Iraq, Oman, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, while the second group includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.
The opening match will be between the national team of the hosting country, Iraq, and Oman at 6:45 p.m. local time in Basra International Stadium, and later on the same day, the national teams of Saudi Arabia and Yemen will play their match scheduled at 9:30 p.m.
The participating teams will rest for a day after each round, and teams qualified for the semi-finals will be given two days of rest. The two final four matches will take place on January 16, and the final match will be on January 19.
The Secretary-General of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation, Jassim Al-Rumaihi confirmed that the hosting country and the date of the tournament will not change.
Al-Rumaihi added that some matters need speedy decision-making, explaining that the cancellation of the friendly match between Iraq and Costa Rica at the last minute will not be a reason to obstruct the 25th Gulf Cup tournament in Basra.
The Arabian Gulf Cup was launched in 1970 and is organized every two years. The first edition was held in Bahrain in 1970 and the recent one in Qatar in 2019.
Kuwait is the most successful team in the tournament’s history with ten titles, while Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iraq won the event three times each. Oman and the UAE came first in two editions each.
Iraq will host the tournament for the second time in its history after the first in 1979, when it hosted the fifth edition in the capital, Baghdad, at the Al-Shaab International Stadium, and was crowned with its title.