Arabian Gulf Cup Explained

Current:	26th Arabian Gulf Cup
Founded:	1970
Organiser:	Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation
Number Of Teams:	8
Current Champions:	(4th title)
Most Successful Team:	(10 titles)

The Arabian Gulf Cup (Arabic: كأس الخليج العربي, Kaʾs al-Khalīj al-ʿArabī),^{[1] [2] [3]} often referred to simply as the Gulf Cup,^{[4] [5] [6]} is a biennial football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation for its eight member nations. The history of the competition has also seen it held every three to four years due to political or organisational problems.^[7] The reigning champions are Iraq, having won their fourth title at the 25th edition, as hosts, held in 2023.

History

The idea for the tournament was established at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and the first Arabian Gulf Cup took place in 1970 which was won by Kuwait. Kuwait has been the most successful team in the tournament's history, winning 10 tournaments out of 25 in total, followed by Iraq with four titles, and Saudi Arabia and Qatar with three titles each. The current champions are Iraq, who defeated Oman in 2023 to win their fourth title.

Developments

A major point that helped Qatar improve the competition was that Al Jazeera Sports, the leading sports channel in Western Asia, and North Africa is based in Doha. Al Jazeera Sports won broadcasting rights to the 2004, and exclusively in the 19th Arabian Gulf Cup in 2009^{[8] [9]} and dramatically reformed the Arabian Gulf Cup by hosting numerous talk shows and documentaries, on top of filming in HD and perfecting camerawork of matches.^[10]

The tournament marked the presence of some of the most influential personalities of the football world, including FIFA President, Sepp Blatter,^[11] and UEFA president, Michel Platini.^{[12] [13]} The FIFA Executive Committee has also put on their October 4, 2013 meeting agenda to hear the proposal for the Arabian Gulf Cup to be included in the international match calendar.^[14]

Political and security issues

From 1990 to 2003, Iraq was banned due to the Gulf War.^[15]

The 21st Arabian Gulf Cup in 2013 was originally scheduled to be hosted in the city of Basra, Iraq, but was moved to Bahrain in October 2011 to ensure that Iraq could suitably host the competition in the 22nd edition.^[16]

The 22nd Arabian Gulf Cup was also shifted after concerns of preparation and security.^[17]

Likewise, the 23rd Arabian Gulf Cup was also originally scheduled to be held in Basra, Iraq, with an official decision set to be made in February 2015. On 2 February 2015, the Iraqi Ministry of Youth announced that Iraq would not host the competition due to a financial crisis in Iraq.^{[18] [19]}

In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. In July 2019, the AGCFF announced that the 24th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup would be held in the Qatari capital of Doha. In October 2019, the three countries announced they would not participate in the competition.^[20] However, later in November 2019, the three countries agreed to take part and the draw for the tournament was re-made.^[21]

Results

Edition	Year	Hosts		Final				Third place match or losing semi-finalists
				Champions	Score	Runners-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place
1st Details	1970				round-robin				round-robin
2nd Details	1972				round-robin				round-robin
3rd Details	1974				4–0				1–1 (3–0 p.)
4th Details	1976				4–2				round-robin
5th Details	1979				round-robin				round-robin
6th Details	1982				round-robin				round-robin
7th Details	1984				1–1 (3–2 p.)				round-robin
8th Details	1986				round-robin				round-robin
9th Details	1988				round-robin				round-robin
10th Details	1990				round-robin				round-robin
11th Details	1992				round-robin				round-robin
12th Details	1994				round-robin				round-robin
13th Details	1996				round-robin				round-robin
14th Details	1998				round-robin				round-robin
15th Details	2002				round-robin				round-robin
16th Details	2003–04				round-robin				round-robin
17th Details	2004				1–1 (6–5 p.)				3–1
18th Details	2007				1–0			and
19th Details	2009				0–0 (6–5 p.)			and
20th Details	2010				1–0			and
21st Details	2013				2–1				6–1
22nd Details	2014				2–1				1–0
23rd Details	2017–18				0–0 (5–4 p.)			and
24th Details	2019				1–0			and
25th Details	2023				3–2			and
26th Details	2024–25

Winners summary

width=5%	Team	width=10%	Winners	width=10%	Runners-up	width=10%	Third place	width=10%	Fourth place	width=10%	Semi-finalists (no 3rd Place Match)
	10 (1970, 1972, 1974*, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990*, 1996, 1998, 2010)	1 (1979)	2 (2002, 2013)	1 (2004)	1 (2009)
	4 (1979*, 1984, 1988, 2023*)	2 (1976, 2013)	–	–	3 (2010, 2017–18, 2019)
	3 (1994, 2002*, 2003–04)	7 (1972*, 1974, 1998, 2009, 2010, 2014*, 2019)	7 (1970, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1988*, 1992, 1996)	1 (1982)	1 (2007)
	3 (1992*, 2004*, 2014)	4 (1984, 1990, 1996, 2002)	2 (1976*, 2003–04)	5 (1970, 1972, 1974, 1986, 1994)	3 (2009, 2019*,2023)
	2 (2007*, 2013)	4 (1986, 1988, 1994*, 2017–18)	5 (1972, 1974, 1982*, 1998, 2014)	3 (1984, 1992, 1996)	1 (2010)
	2 (2009*, 2017–18)	3 (2004, 2007, 2023)	–	4 (1990, 1998, 2003–04, 2014)	–
	1 (2019)	4 (1970*, 1982, 1992, 2003–04)	3 (1990, 1994, 2004)	5 (1976, 1979, 1988, 2002, 2013*)	3 (2007, 2017–18, 2023)
	–	–	–	–	–

Note:

• An asterisk (*) beside the year in the above table means that country hosted the tournament.

Participating nations

width=160	Team				1974 !			1982																			2023	Total
	2nd	WD	GS	4th	4th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	GS	GS	4th	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	3rd	GS	GS	GS	bgcolor=silver	2nd	3rd	SF	GS	GS	4th	GS	SF	bgcolor=gold	1st	SF	25
UAE		3rd	4th	GS	GS	3rd	4th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	GS	4th	2nd	4th	3rd	GS	GS	GS	1st	GS	SF	bgcolor=gold	1st	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	GS	GS	24
		bgcolor=silver	2nd	1st	WD	bgcolor=gold	1st	GS	bgcolor=gold	1st	WD		GS	GS	GS	SF	bgcolor=silver	2nd	GS	SF	SF	1st	16
	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=gold	1st	GS	bgcolor=gold	1st	GS	1st	GS	GS	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	3rd	GS	4th	GS	SF	bgcolor=gold	1st	3rd	GS	GS	GS	GS	25
		GS	GS	GS	GS	GS	GS	GS	4th	GS	GS	GS	4th	GS	4th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	1st	GS	GS	4th	bgcolor=gold	1st	GS	bgcolor=silver	2nd	23
	4th	4th	3rd	3rd	GS	GS	bgcolor=silver	2nd	4th	GS	bgcolor=silver	2nd	1st	4th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	GS	bgcolor=silver	2nd	3rd	1st	GS	SF	GS	GS	bgcolor=gold	1st	GS	SF	SF	25
	3rd	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	GS	3rd	4th	3rd	3rd	3rd		3rd	bgcolor=gold	1st	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	GS	SF	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	GS	2nd	GS	bgcolor=silver	2nd	GS	24
		GS	GS	GS	GS	GS	GS	GS	GS	GS	GS	10
Total	4	5	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8

Legend:

• #: Invitee
• Red border: Host nation
• Blank: Did not enter
• TBD: To be determined
• GS: Group stage
• SF: Semi-finalists (No third place match)
• WD: Withdrew

Note:

• was banned from the competition from 1992 to 2003.
• have not yet won the championship nor even won a single competitive game.
• There were no third place play-offs for the Arabian Gulf Cup from 2007 to 2010 and from 2017–18 onwards.

Summary

Rank	Team	Part	M	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1		24	112	57	25	30	166	106	+60	196
2		25	115	57	24	34	200	115	+85	195
3		25	114	43	29	42	140	136	+4	158
4		24	114	41	29	41	119	139	−20	152
5		14	73	37	25	11	132	64	+68	136
6		24	107	32	34	41	113	135	−22	130
7		22	111	23	29	59	91	180	−89	98
8		10	33	0	6	27	12	84	−72	6

Source:^[22]

Note:

1. 1972 (Bahrain were ejected from the competition)
2. 1982 (Iraq withdrew from the competition)
3. 1990 (Iraq withdrew from the competition)

All-time goal records

All-time goal records by Tournaments:^[23]

Tournament	Games	Goals scored	Goals per game
1970	6	19	3.17
1972	6	25	4.17
1974	10	40	4.00
1976	22	84	3.82
1979	21	70	3.33
1982	15	38	2.53
1984	22	51	2.32
1986	21	53	2.52
1988	21	34	1.62
1990	10	21	2.10
1992	15	30	2.00
1994	15	34	2.27
1996	15	35	2.33
1998	15	40	2.67
2002	15	33	2.20
2003–04	21	46	2.19
2004	16	59	3.69
2007	15	34	2.27
2009	15	31	2.07
2010	15	30	2.00
2013	16	36	2.25
2014	16	33	2.06
2017–18	15	23	1.53
2019	15	45	3.00
2023	15	39	2.60

• reached 100 goals on 3 March 1988 vs
• reached 200 goals on 13 January 2023 vs
• reached 100 goals on 19 October 1996 vs
• reached 100 goals on 16 December 2004 vs
• reached 100 goals on 2 December 2010 vs
• reached 100 goals on 11 January 2013 vs
• reached 100 goals on 11 January 2013 vs

Does not include goals from annulled or abandoned games (1972 – games, 1982 & 1990 games)

Includes 1974 preliminary round games

Does not include penalty shoot-out goals

All-time top scorers

Updated on 4 December 2019.

Rank	Player	Country	Goals
1	Jasem Yaqoub		18
2	Majed Abdullah		17
	Hussein Saeed		17
4	Jasem Al Huwaidi		14
	Faisal Al-Dakhil		14
6	Ali Mabkhout		13
	Mansour Muftah		13
8	Bader Al-Mutawa		12
	Yussef Al-Suwayed		12
10	Fahad Khamees		10
	Mahmoud Soufi		10
	Yasser Al-Qahtani		10

Players in bold are still active

Golden boot history

Year	Player(s)	Goals scored
1970	Mohammed Masawd	3
	Jawad Khalif
1972	Hamad Bu Hamood	6
1974	Jasem Yaqoub	6
1976	Jasem Yaqoub	9
1979	Hussein Saeed	10
1982	Ebrahim Zwaeed	3
	Saleem Khalifa
	Yussif Swaid
	Majed Abdullah
1984	Hussain Saeed	7
1986	Fahad Khamees	6
1988	Zuhair Bukheet	4
	Ahmad Radhi
1990	Mohammed Ebrahim Hajeyah	5
1992	Mubarak Mustafa	3
1994	Fuad Anwar	4
	Mahmoud Soufi
1996	Mohammed Salem Al-Enazi	4
1998	Jasem Al Huwaidi	9
2002	Hani Al-Dhabit	5
2003–04	Talal Yousef	5
2004	Amad Al Hosni	4
2007	Ismail Matar	5
2009	Hassan Rabia	4
2010	Bader Al-Mutawa	3
	Alaa Abdul-Zahra
2013	Ahmed Khalil	3
	Abdulhadi Khamis
2014	Ali Mabkhout	5
2017–18	Ali Husni	2
	Ali Faez
	Jamal Rashid
	Almoez Ali
	Said Al-Ruzaiqi
2019	Ali Mabkhout	5
2023	Aymen Hussein	3
	Ibrahim Bayesh

Other records

• Biggest win – 8 goals

8–0 (29 March 1976)

• Most goals in a game – 8 goals

8–0 (29 March 1976)

• Most individual goals in a single game – 5 goals

Majed Abdullah, (3 April 1979 vs)

Jassem Al Houwaidi, (1998 vs)

• Most individual goals in a single tournament – 10 goals

Hussein Saeed, (1979)

See also

• GCC U-23 Championship
• GCC U-19 Championship
• GCC U-17 Championship
• GCC Futsal Cup
• WAFF Championship
• FIFA Arab Cup

Notes and References

1. News: FIFA President impressed with Gulf Cup kick-off. https://web.archive.org/web/20171224123950/http://www.fifa.com/live-scores/news/y=2017/m=12/news=fifa-president-impressed-with-gulf-cup-kick-off-2925682.html. dead. 24 December 2017. FIFA.com.
2. Web site: Arabian Gulf Cup 23 2017. Kooora. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20181226184234/http://www.goalzz.com/main.aspx?c=15220&cm=m. 26 December 2018.
3. Web site: The Official Logo of the Arabian Gulf Cup. Kuwait Football Association. 2017-12-26. 2023-04-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20230410081111/https://twitter.com/KuwaitFA/status/941332592615477248. live.
4. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSMTZXEFBUSJ1A5V/
5. Web site: 2023-01-09 . Kuwait to host 26th Gulf Cup . 2023-01-15 . Iraqi News . en-US . 2023-01-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230109184619/https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/kuwait-to-host-26th-gulf-cup/ . live .
6. Web site: Dozens injured during Oman's Gulf Cup win celebrations. www.aljazeera.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20180106170340/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/dozens-injured-oman-gulf-cup-win-celebrations-180106145247748.html. 6 January 2018.
7. Web site: Iraq pull out of Gulf Cup in spat with Saudi Arabia. Reuters. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160507144857/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-iraq-saudi-idUKBRE9980MV20131009. 7 May 2016.
8. http://gulfnews.com/sport/football/uae-fans-could-be-deprived-of-gulf-cup-action-1.43346 – Al Jazeera win rights from Abu Dhabi & Dubai Sports, in a competition that was broadcast freely just a decade ago
9. http://m.sportbusiness.com/news/168199/al-jazeera-acquires-gulf-cup-rights – Al Jazeera Sports receive full broadcasting rights for 23.5 million dollars
10. Web site: WTVision broadcasts real-time statistics at 2009 Gulf Cup in Oman - News - wTVision . 2010-02-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090221143002/http://www.wtvision.com/290/wtvision-broadcasts-real-time-statistics-at-2009-gulf-cup-in-oman.htm . 2009-02-21 . – Al Jazeera Sports offer the Gulf Cup in HD for the first time, and offer further enhanced visual graphics
11. http://www.gulf-cup.net/index.asp?IDNews=125&id=100001 – Sepp Blatter on the 19th Gulf Cup
12. http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/84173262/AFP – Michel Platini attending the 19th Gulf Cup
13. http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/84167684/AFP – Michel Platini attending the 19th Gulf Cup
14. https://web.archive.org/web/20131004234846/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/bodies/02/17/94/91/13920_excooctober_agenda_en_13-02270_101_en_en_13-02410_101_en_en_neutral.pdf FIFA.com
15. Web site: Wars and football: Iraq's politically-charged history in the Arabian Gulf Cup. Doha News. 21 January 2023. 21 January 2023. 21 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230121154317/https://dohanews.co/wars-and-football-iraqs-politically-charged-history-in-the-arabian-gulf-cup/. live.
16. Web site: Bahrain to host 21st Gulf Cup. 31 October 2011. QFA.com.qa. 31 October 2011. 30 May 2012. https://archive.today/20120530192956/http://www.qfa.com.qa/bahrain-to-host-21st-gulf-cup.aspx. live.
17. Web site: Gulf Cup shifts from Iraq to Saudi Arabia. SFGate. 8 October 2013. 18 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131018045801/http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Gulf-Cup-shifts-from-Iraq-to-Saudi-Arabia-4878163.php. dead.
18. Web site: Iraq named 2016 Gulf Cup hosts, final decision in three months. 18 November 2014 . Qatar FA. 18 November 2014. 11 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170911205024/http://www.qfa.com.qa/iraq-named-2016-gulf-cup-hosts-final-decision-in-three-months/. live.
19. Web site: Iraq officially suspends hosting Khaliji 23 Championship. 2 February 2015 . Iraqi News.com. 2 February 2015. 10 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230410081111/https://www.iraqinews.com/baghdad-politics/iraq-officially-suspends-hosting-khaliji-championship/. live.
20. Web site: Five teams to compete in 24th Arabian Gulf Cup next month. FOX Sports Asia. 13 November 2019. 24 October 2019. 5 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191205071108/https://www.foxsportsasia.com/football/asian-football/1189547/five-teams-to-compete-in-24th-arabian-gulf-cup-next-month/. dead.
21. Web site: Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain to play in Gulf Cup in Qatar. 13 November 2019. The Arabian Stories News. 13 November 2019. 13 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191113095411/https://www.thearabianstories.com/2019/11/13/saudi-arabia-uae-and-bahrain-to-play-in-gulf-cup-in-qatar/. live.
22. Web site: Arab Gulf Cup Federation . 2023-01-20 . en-US . 2023-01-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230119194510/https://agcff.com/en/home/ . live .
23. Statistics made by contributor based on information found on gulfcup.com