Tuesday 19 / May / 2026
Muscat: Amidst widespread anticipation from Gulf football fans, our national team awaits today's draw ceremony for the 27th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup (Gulf Cup 27), which will be hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from September 23 to October 6.
The draw ceremony will take place at 5:00 PM in the Cultural Square at the Arts Center of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah. In attendance will be our national team coach, Tariq Al-Saktiwi, along with officials from the Oman Football Association, representatives of the eight participating teams, and several former Gulf football stars.
Gulf Cup 27 is the fifth edition of the tournament to be held under the auspices of the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation. The matches will be played in Jeddah at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium and Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, with the participation of the national teams of Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Yemen.
According to the latest FIFA rankings released on April 1st, Qatar and Iraq were placed in Pot 1, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Pot 2, Oman and Bahrain in Pot 3, and Kuwait and Yemen in Pot 4.
The draw will divide the teams into two groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals. The final will be played between the winners of the two semifinal matches.
Saudi Arabia, as the host nation, will head Group A, while the UAE will top Group B, based on the rankings. This means our national team will avoid facing Bahrain in the first round, as they are in the same pot.
The Arabian Gulf Cup football tournament has enjoyed widespread popularity in the region since its inception in 1970 in Bahrain, due to its sporting and social value in strengthening the bonds of brotherhood and closeness among the peoples of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia has previously hosted the tournament four times: in 1972, 1988, 2002, and 2014.
