As a result of the draw for the 25th Persian Gulf Cup, which took place yesterday in Basra, our team was in the first group along with Iraq (hosts), Oman and Yemen.
The second group included Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Basra will host the tournament on January 6th.
The teams participating in the tournament were divided into two groups, the leader and the runner-up from each group advanced to the semifinals.
The matches of the tournament will be played at the Basra and Al Mina International Stadium, where the first stadium has a capacity of 60,000 spectators, and the second – 30,000.
The draw was attended by a number of prominent figures from the Gulf, led by Gulf Federation President Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Adnan Darjal, President of the Federation of Iraq, and Basra Governor Asaad Al-Eidani.
In his speech at the opening ceremony of the draw, Adnan Darjal expressed Iraqis’ joy at hosting the event, which is the largest held in Iraq in many years, as the tournament is held on Iraqi soil after a 43-year absence since the fifth tournament.
Dargal spoke about the challenges you faced while preparing to host the tournament, saying, “We faced big challenges to reach the Gulf Championship and we managed to present a Basra file that will impress everyone, God willing, during the competition, which will take place early next year.
