Postponing the tournament to January 2023 due to a crowded calendar

The Gulf Football Championship, which was scheduled in the Iraqi city of Basra next December, has been postponed to January 2023, due to the crowded calendar of the Gulf teams and their participation in many continental and international competitions, according to what the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation announced. Monday.

The statement stated, "The extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly of the Arab Gulf Cup Federation decided to postpone the 25th Gulf Cup until January 2023, during the meeting held today, Monday, under the chairmanship of His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Federation."

Jassim Al-Rumaihi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cup Federation, said that the postponement came “due to the crowded calendar of the Gulf teams and their participation in many continental and international competitions,” stressing that “Iraq will be ready to host the 25th Gulf Cup 6 months ago, according to the regulations and standards approved by the Arab Gulf Cup Federation, It was also agreed to open the door for nominations to host the 26th Gulf Arab League, which is scheduled to be held in December 2023 and January 2024.

The decision was expected in light of shortcomings in the file of the city of Basra’s readiness to host the tournament, in addition to great pressure on the agenda of the Gulf federations locally, continentally and internationally, noting that the federation announced earlier this year that Kuwait would be the alternative hosting country.

The inspection committee formed by the Gulf Federation headed by the Yemeni Hamid Al-Shaibani, had made several field inspection visits to Basra’s civil facilities, including stadiums and hotels, and submitted reports that were discussed by the Executive Office of the Federation headed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Gulf and Qatari Federations.

Some Gulf federations have pushed for a postponement until after the World Cup finals to be hosted by Qatar during the months of November and December 2022.

The football calendar of the Gulf teams is witnessing great crowds in the coming months, as six of the eight teams participating in the Gulf Cup will participate in the Arab Cup finals that will be held in Qatar during the period between November 31 and December 18 next, namely Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Oman.

The teams of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and the UAE will participate in the final round of the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup, while the Gulf clubs will know continental participations in the AFC Champions League and in the local press leagues.

It is noteworthy that Iraq is still facing a ban on holding matches on its soil due to the security situation since 2019.

The new president of the federation, Adnan Darjal, said in a press conference on Thursday that "after the International and Asian Federations were approached more than 45 days ago by the temporary authority for the management of the Iraqi federation regarding the demand to allow the resumption of international matches on Iraqi stadiums, the two federations confirmed sending representatives at the end of this month to Iraq to ensure From the possibility of the matches returning.”

FIFA has imposed a ban on holding international matches on Iraqi stadiums, including the Basra International Stadium, which is scheduled to host the Iraqi team's matches in the Asian qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, since the end of 2019 due to the security situation and the unprecedented demonstrations that the country witnessed.

The Gulf Cup is held every two years, and the first edition was held in Bahrain in 1970 and the last in Qatar in 2019. Kuwait holds the record for winning the Gulf championship with 10 titles, compared to 3 for Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, 2 for Oman and the UAE and a title for Bahrain in 2019.