Iraqi Youth and Sports Minister and President of the Iraqi Football Association Adnan Darjal announced on Thursday that the city of Basra will host the 25th Gulf Cup in early 2023.
And on the official website of the Iraqi federation, a video of the president of the federation was published, in which he says: “Congratulations to the Iraqi government and people on this achievement. The Persian Gulf Cup is Iraqi Basrawiya.”
The tournament was scheduled for January 2022 but was rescheduled for the same month in 2023 due to the busy calendar of Gulf teams.
More than a year ago, representatives of the Executive Office of the Gulf Arab States Federation came to Basra several times to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the readiness and effectiveness of sports facilities before the 25th Gulf Cup, the last of which was last week.
And some Gulf federations have pushed for a postponement until the final of the World Cup, which will be held in Qatar in November and December 2022.
Derzhal promised to fulfill all the necessary requirements recommended by the inspection committees and hold an important and successful championship.
Iraq is still facing a ban from the International Federation (FIFA) from playing matches on its territory due to the security situation since 2019.
The Gulf Cup is held every two years and Bahrain hosted the first edition in 1970 and the last in Qatar in 2019.
Kuwait holds the record for most wins with 10 titles compared to 3 for Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, two each for the Sultanate of Oman and the UAE and one title for Bahrain 2019.
Iraq once hosted a tournament at the Al Shaab International Stadium in the capital Baghdad in 1979 and won the title.
