Kuwait hosts Gulf Cup football tourney for 5th time
The State of Kuwait has hosted the Gulf Cup tournament four times since the regional football championship was launched in 1970.
The third round of the games was held in Kuwait in 1974, the 10th in 1990, the 16th in 2003 and the 23rd session in 2017.
Kuwait will host it for the fifth time (December 21-January 3) — the 26th round of the Gulf championship. The third round (March 15-29) hosted by Kuwait in 1974 was held when it was organized every two years.
It was Kuwait that triumphed in this competition, thrashing Saudi Arabia 4-0. All matches of this tournament had been held at Kuwait Sports Club Stadium. In the third round, the teams were placed in two groups; one comprising Kuwait, Qatar and Oman and the other Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. Kuwait won the cup beating Oman 0- 5, Qatar 0-1, the UAE 0-6 and Saudi Arabia 0-4.
The Yugoslav coach, Ljubisa Brocic, led the “the blues” — a label for wearing blue-colored tshirts — to win the Gulf title for the third time in a row.
The Kuwaiti striker Jassem Yacoub was declared the championship scorer with six goals. The goalkeeper Ahmad Al-Taraboulsi earned the title, the top goalkeeper, as he emerged from the competitions with clean nets.
The “blues” excelled anew in the 10th edition, the second to be hosted by Kuwait (1990, February 21-March 9). It was held at the Al-Sadaqa and Al-Salam Stadium of Kazma Sports Club. Kuwait earned the title in the games that involved five teams after Saudi Arabia decided not to partake and Iraq withdrew after playing the first match and their score was omitted.
Kuwait won in three matches with a single draw encounter, thus winning its seventh title. In the tenth round of the Gulf Cup, Kuwait beat Bahrain 0-1, equalized with Oman 1-1, beat Qatar 0-2, the UAE 1-6, and was crowned the tournament champion.
The Kuwaiti player Mohammad Ibrahim earned the championship striker’s label, with five goals, while his peer, Samir Saad, emerged as the best goalkeeper, sharing the title with the Bahraini Humoud Sultan.
The game’s number-one player was Nasser Khamis, the UAE. Kuwait Sports Club Stadium hosted the 16th round in 2003 (December 26, 2003-January 11, 2004). Moreover, it was the third time that Kuwait would host the games.
This edition witnessed Yemen’s participation for the first time, with Saudi Arabia winning the title. In this tournament, the third to be hosted by Kuwait, the competition kicked off with “the blues” playing a 0-0 match vis a vis Oman, before losing 0-2 against the UAE.
However, they made a comeback beating Bahrain 0-4 and drawing 1-1 against Saudi Arabia. In the later encounters, they suffered setbacks against Qatar, losing 1-2 and Bahrain 0-4.
The Bahraini Mohammad Salmin was crowned the top player and his peer Talal Yusuf the excellent striker (five goals), while the Omani, Ali Al-Habsi, was honored as the best goalkeeper. The Omanis bagged the title, for the second time, in the fourth round hosted by Kuwait between December 22, 2017, and January 5, 2018. That was the Gulf Cup’s 23rd edition.
The Omani Ahmad Al-Mmuhaijri was designated the top player. The top striker title went to the Iraqis Ali Hosni and Ali Faez, the Bahriani Jamal Rashed, the Omani Saeed Al-Rzaiqi, and the Qatari AlMuez Ali (each scoring two goals).
Khaled Issa of the UAE was proclaimed the best goalkeeper while the Kuwaiti team was credited for clean playing. Kuwait is set to host the regional tournament for the fifth time, later this month — under the title “Khaleeji Zain 26,” the 26th edition.
Eight teams are partaking in the competitions to be played at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium and Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah Stadium, the inauguration of which would coincide with the sports event.
The “blues” have earned the title ten times, followed by Iraq, four times, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, three, the UAE and Oman, twice, Bahrain, once, and Yeme,n not a single time.
Source: KUNA
