| Organising body | Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1970 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Current champions |  Bahrain(1st title) |
| Most successful team(s) |  Kuwait(10 titles) |
| Website | AGCFF.com |
 24th Arabian Gulf Cup | |
The Arabian Gulf Cup (Arabic: كأس الخليج العربي, Kass Al-Khaleej Al-Arabi),[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]
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 24 in total, while Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iraq all have three titles. The current champions are Bahrain, who defeated Saudi Arabia in 2019 to win their first title.
In 2017, the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including 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 will be held in Doha. In October 2019, the three countries also announced to boycott the tournament.[8] Later in November 2019, the three countries announced to take part in the 24th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup tournament to be hosted by Qatar.[9]
Developments
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A major point that helped Qatar improve the competition was the fact 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[10] after a deal ending in million,[11] 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.[12]
The tournament marked the presence of some of the most influential personalities of the football world, including FIFA President, Sepp Blatter,[13] and UEFA president, Michel Platini.[14][15] 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.[16]
Results
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Summary
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Semifinals | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kuwait | 10 (1970, 1972, 1974*, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990*, 1996, 1998, 2010) | 1 (1979) | 2 (2002, 2013) | 1 (2004) | 1 (2009) | 15 |
 Saudi Arabia | 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) | 19 |
 Qatar | 3 (1992*, 2004*, 2014) | 4 (1984, 1990, 1996, 2002) | 2 (1976*, 2003–04) | 5 (1970, 1972, 1974, 1986, 1994) | 2 (2009, 2019*) | 16 |
 Iraq | 3 (1979*, 1984, 1988) | 2 (1976, 2013) | – | – | 3 (2010, 2017–18, 2019) | 8 |
 United Arab Emirates | 2 (2007*, 2013) | 4 (1986, 1988, 1994*, 2017–18) | 5 (1972, 1974, 1982*, 1998, 2014) | 3 (1984, 1992, 1996) | 1 (2010) | 15 |
 Oman | 2 (2009*, 2017–18) | 2 (2004, 2007) | – | 4 (1990, 1998, 2003–04, 2014) | – | 8 |
| Bahrain | 1 (2019) | 4 (1970*, 1982, 1992, 2003–04) | 3 (1990, 1994, 2004) | 5 (1976, 1979, 1988, 2002, 2013*) | 2 (2007, 2017–18) | 15 |
 Yemen | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
Note:
- An asterisk (*) beside the year in the above table means that country hosted the tournament.
Participating nations
| Team | .svg.png){kind=small} 1970 | .svg.png){kind=small} 1972 | 1974 | 1976 | %3b_Flag_of_Syria_(1963%e2%80%931972).svg.png){kind=small} 1979 | 1982 | .svg.png){kind=small} 1984 | .svg.png){kind=small} 1986 | 1988 | 1990 | 1992 | 1994 | 1996 | 1998 | 2002 | 2003–04 | 2004 | 2007 | 2009 | 2010 | 2013 | 2014 | 2017–18 | 2019 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bahrain | 2nd | WD | GS | 4th | 4th | 2nd | GS | GS | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | GS | GS | GS | 2nd | 3rd | SF | GS | GS | 4th | GS | SF | 1st | 24 |
 Iraq | 2nd | 1st | WD | 1st | GS | 1st | WD | GS | GS | GS | SF | 2nd | GS | SF | SF | 15 | |||||||||
 Kuwait | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | GS | 1st | GS | 1st | GS | GS | 1st | 1st | 3rd | GS | 4th | GS | SF | 1st | 3rd | GS | GS | GS | 24 |
 Oman | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | 4th | GS | GS | GS | 4th | GS | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | GS | GS | 4th | 1st | GS | 22 | ||
 Qatar | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | GS | GS | 2nd | 4th | GS | 2nd | 1st | 4th | 2nd | GS | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | GS | SF | GS | GS | 1st | GS | SF | 24 |
 Saudi Arabia | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | GS | 3rd | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | GS | SF | 2nd | 2nd | GS | 2nd | GS | 2nd | 23 | |
 United Arab Emirates | 3rd | 4th | GS | GS | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | GS | 4th | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | GS | GS | GS | 1st | GS | SF | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | GS | 23 | |
 Yemen | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | 9 | |||||||||||||||
| 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 | |
Legend:
- #: Invitee
- Red border: Host Nation
- Blank: Did Not Enter
- TBD: To Be Determined
- GS: Group Stage
- SF: Semifinalists (No 3rd Place Match)
- WD: Withdrew
Note:
Iraq was banned from the competition from 1992 to 2003.
Yemen have not yet won the championship nor even winning a single competitive game.- There were no third place playoffs for the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2017–18 and 2019.
General statistics
As of 2019 Cup
| Rank | Team | Part | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Dif | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 23 | 109 | 56 | 25 | 28 | 163 | 102 | +61 | 193 |
| 2 | Kuwait | 24 | 113 | 56 | 23 | 33 | 194 | 112 | +82 | 191 |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates | 23 | 111 | 41 | 28 | 39 | 117 | 135 | −18 | 151 |
| 4 | Qatar | 24 | 112 | 41 | 25 | 41 | 130 | 129 | +1 | 148 |
| 5 | Bahrain | 23 | 107 | 32 | 34 | 41 | 113 | 135 | −22 | 130 |
| 6 | Iraq | 15 | 58 | 26 | 21 | 11 | 104 | 56 | +48 | 99 |
| 7 | Oman | 22 | 104 | 19 | 27 | 58 | 81 | 176 | −95 | 84 |
| 8 | Yemen | 9 | 30 | 0 | 6 | 24 | 9 | 77 | −68 | 6 |
Source:[17]
Note: This table excludes eleven annulled games from 1972 (Bahrain were ejected from the competition), 1982 (Iraq were forced to withdraw due to the political situation in the country), and 1990 (Iraq were ejected from the competition).
All-time goal records
All-time goal records by Tournaments:[18]
| Tournaments | 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 |
- Kuwait reached 100 goals on 3 March 1988 vs Qatar
- Saudi Arabia reached 100 goals on 19 October 1996 vs Qatar
- Qatar reached 100 goals on 16 December 2004 vs Oman
- Iraq reached 100 goals on 2 December 2010 vs Kuwait
- Bahrain reached 100 goals on 11 January 2013 vs Qatar
- United Arab Emirates reached 100 goals on 11 January 2013 vs Oman
Does not include goals from annulled or abandoned games (1972 – Bahrain games, 1982 & 1990 Iraq games)
Includes 1974 Preliminary Round games
Does not include penalty shoot-out goals
All-time top scorers
- Updated on 4 December 2019.
| Player | Country | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jasem Yaqoub | Kuwait | 18 |
| 2 | Majed Abdullah | Saudi Arabia | 17 |
| Hussein Saeed | Iraq | 17 | |
| 4 | Jasem Al Huwaidi | Kuwait | 14 |
| Faisal Al-Dakhil | Kuwait | 14 | |
| 6 | Ali Mabkhout | United Arab Emirates | 13 |
| Mansour Muftah | Qatar | 13 | |
| 8 | Bader Al-Mutawa | Kuwait | 12 |
| Yussef Al-Suwayed | Kuwait | 12 | |
| 10 | Fahad Khamees | United Arab Emirates | 10 |
| Mahmoud Soufi | Qatar | 10 | |
| Yasser Al-Qahtani | Saudi Arabia | 10 |
Players in bold are still active
Golden boot history
| Year | Player | 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 |
| Country | Players | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Kuwait | 8 | 9 (1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1990, 1998, 2010, 2013) |
| United Arab Emirates | 6 | 7 (1982, 1986, 1988, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2019) |
| Iraq | 4 | 5 (1979, 1984, 1988, 2010, 2017–18) |
| Oman | 4 (2002, 2004, 2009, 2017–18) | |
| Qatar | 4 (1992, 1994, 1996, 2017–18) | |
| Bahrain | 3 | 3 (1982, 2003–04, 2017–18) |
| Saudi Arabia | 2 | 2 (1982, 1994) |
| Yemen | 0 | 0 |
Other records
- Biggest Win – 8 Goals
- Most Goals in a game – 8 Goals
- Most Individual Goals in a Single Game – 5 Goals
- Majed Abdullah
Saudi Arabia (3 April 1979 vs. Qatar) - Jassem Al Houwaidi
Kuwait (1998 vs. Qatar)
- Most Individual Goals in a Single Tournament – 10 Goals
- Hussein Saeed
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Iraq (1979)
See also
- U23 Gulf Championship
- U20 Gulf Championship
- U17 Gulf Championship
- Futsal Gulf Cup
- Arab Nations Cup
- Arabian Gulf Futsal Cup
References
- ^ "FIFA President impressed with Gulf Cup kick-off". FIFA.com.
- ^ "Arabian Gulf Cup 23 2017". Kooora.
- ^ "The Official Logo of the Arabian Gulf Cup". Kuwait Football Association.
- ^ AS, Diario (December 13, 2017). "Gulf Cup of Nations: Hosts Kuwait the most successful side". AS.com.
- ^ "Summary - Gulf Cup of Nations - Asia - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
- ^ "Dozens injured during Oman's Gulf Cup win celebrations". www.aljazeera.com.
- ^ Editorial, Reuters. "Iraq pull out of Gulf Cup in spat with Saudi Arabia".
- ^ "Five teams to compete in 24th Arabian Gulf Cup next month". FOX Sports Asia. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain to play in Gulf Cup in Qatar". The Arabian Stories News. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ 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
- ^ http://m.sportbusiness.com/news/168199/al-jazeera-acquires-gulf-cup-rights Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine – Al Jazeera Sports receive full broadcasting rights for 23.5 million dollars
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2010-02-07. – Al Jazeera Sports offer the Gulf Cup in HD for the first time, and offer further enhanced visual graphics
- ^ http://www.gulf-cup.net/index.asp?IDNews=125&id=100001 – Sepp Blatter on the 19th Gulf Cup
- ^ http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/84173262/AFP – Michel Platini attending the 19th Gulf Cup
- ^ http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/84167684/AFP – Michel Platini attending the 19th Gulf Cup
- ^ https://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
- ^ "General stats for all teams – Mundial 11". Mundial 11. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ Statistics made by contributor based on information found on gulfcup.com Archived 2006-02-05 at the Wayback Machine