The draw for the 26th Arabian Gulf Football Cup, which was drawn yesterday, placed the national team in the first group alongside the teams of Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, while the second group included Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen.
The Iraqi team won the title of the last 25th edition, which was held in the city of Basra.
Eight teams will participate in the tournament scheduled to be held in Kuwait during the period from December 21 to January 3 of next year, divided into two groups, each group containing four teams, and the Kuwaiti (host) and Iraqi (title holders) teams were placed at the head of each of the groups.
The participating teams were classified into four levels, with Kuwait and Iraq in the first level, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the second level, the UAE and Bahrain in the third level, and Oman and Yemen in the fourth level.
It is noteworthy that “Al-Abyad” had previously won the championship title twice in its history, during the 18th edition held in Abu Dhabi in 2007, and the 21st edition in Bahrain 2013.
The draw ceremony took place in a festive atmosphere with the participation of representatives of the participating national teams, along with a group of former Gulf football stars.
The tournament matches will be held in a league system with one round for each group, with the first and second from each group qualifying for the final round, which will be held in a knockout system, with the first in the first group meeting the second in the second group, and the first in the second group meeting the second in the first group in the semi-finals.
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