25th Arabian Gulf Cup

The 25th Arabian Gulf Cup, known as Khaleeji Zain 25 for sponsorship reasons,[1] was the 25th edition of the biennial football competition for the eight members of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation. The tournament was hosted in Iraq for the first time since 1979, in the host city of Basra.

25th Arabian Gulf Cup
كأس الخليج العربي 25
Tournament details
Host countryIraq
Dates6–19 January 2023
Teams8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)2 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Iraq (4th title)
Runners-up Oman
Tournament statistics
Matches played15
Goals scored39 (2.6 per match)
Top scorer(s)Iraq Ibrahim Bayesh
Iraq Aymen Hussein
(3 goals each)
Best player(s)Iraq Ibrahim Bayesh
Best goalkeeperOman Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini

Hosts Iraq won their fourth title by beating Oman 3–2 after extra time in the final.[2]

Teams
Team Appearance Previous best
performance		 FIFA Rankings
October 2022
 Qatar25thWinners (1992, 2004, 2014)50
 Saudi Arabia24thWinners (1994, 2002, 2003–04)51
 Iraq (hosts)16thWinners (1979, 1984, 1988)68
 United Arab Emirates24thWinners (2007, 2013)70
 Oman23rdWinners (2009, 2017–18)75
 Bahrain (holders)25thWinners (2019)85
 Kuwait25thWinners (1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2010)149
 Yemen10thGroup stage (2003–04, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017–18, 2019)155

Draw

The draw was held on 25 October 2022 at 11:00 UTC+3 at the Grand Millennium Al Seef in Basra.[3][4] The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four, by selecting one team from each of the four ranked pots. For the draw, the teams were allocated to four pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of October 2022. Pot 1 contained the hosts Iraq and the holders Bahrain, who were assigned to A1 and A2 respectively.[5]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
 Iraq (68) (hosts)
 Bahrain (85) (holders)		  Qatar (50)
 Saudi Arabia (51)		  United Arab Emirates (70)
 Oman (75)		  Kuwait (149)
 Yemen (155)

Squads
Main article: 25th Arabian Gulf Cup squads

Each team had to register a squad of 23 players, three of whom must be goalkeepers.

Venues
Iraq Basra
Basra International Stadium Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium
Capacity: 65,227 Capacity: 30,000

Officials

Group stage

Group A
Main article: 25th Arabian Gulf Cup Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iraq (H) 3 2 1 0 7 0 +7 7 Knockout stage
2  Oman 3 2 1 0 5 3 +2 7
3  Saudi Arabia 3 1 0 2 3 4 −1 3
4  Yemen 3 0 0 3 2 10 −8 0
Source: AGCFF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Iraq 0–0 Oman
Report
Yemen 0–2 Saudi Arabia
Report
Referee: Salman Falahi (Qatar)
Oman 3–2 Yemen
 Report
Referee: Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)
Saudi Arabia 0–2 Iraq
Report
Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
Iraq 5–0 Yemen
 Report
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Saudi Arabia 1–2 Oman
 Report
Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Group B
Main article: 25th Arabian Gulf Cup Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Bahrain 3 2 1 0 5 3 +2 7 Knockout stage
2  Qatar 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
3  Kuwait 3 1 1 1 2 3 −1 4
4  United Arab Emirates 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 1
Source: AGCFF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Bahrain 2–1 United Arab Emirates
 Report
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Kuwait 0–2 Qatar
Report
Referee: Ma Ning (China)
United Arab Emirates 0–1 Kuwait
Report
Referee: Shukri Al-Hanfoush (Saudi Arabia)
Qatar 1–2 Bahrain
 Report
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Bahrain 1–1 Kuwait
 Report
United Arab Emirates 1–1 Qatar
 Report
Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

Knockout stage
Main article: 25th Arabian Gulf Cup knockout stage

Bracket
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
16 January 2023 – Basra
 
 
 Iraq2
 
19 January 2023 – Basra
 
 Qatar1
 
 Iraq (a.e.t.)3
 
16 January 2023 – Basra
 
 Oman2
 
 Bahrain0
 
 
 Oman1
 

Semi-finals
Iraq 2–1 Qatar
 Report
Referee: Ma Ning (China)
Bahrain 0–1 Oman
Report
Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

Final
Iraq 3–2 (a.e.t.) Oman
 Report

Winner
 25th Arabian Gulf Cup Winner 

Iraq
Fourth title

Goalscorers

There were 39 goals scored in 15 matches, for an average of 2.6 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Team statistics

This table shows all team performance.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Final phase
1 Iraq 5410123+913
2 Oman 531186+210
3 Bahrain 421154+17
4 Qatar 41125504
Eliminated in the group stage
5 Kuwait 311123−14
6 Saudi Arabia 310234−13
7 United Arab Emirates 301224−21
8 Yemen 3003210−80

Prize money and awards

Prize money
Position Amount (USD)
Champions 1,000,000
Runner-up 750,000
Total 1,750,000

Source: [6]

Player awards

The following awards were given:[7]

Award Player
Top ScorerIraq Aymen Hussein
Most Valuable PlayerIraq Ibrahim Bayesh
Best GoalkeeperOman Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini

Broadcasters

Middle East

Territory Broadcaster Ref
 Bahrain Bahrain Sport
 Iraq Al Iraqiya Sports
Alrabiaa Sports
UTV
Al Sharqiya
Al Sumaria
 Jordan Jordan Sport
 Kuwait KTV Sports
 Saudi Arabia KSA Sport
 Oman Oman Sports
 Qatar Alkass
 United Arab Emirates AD Sports
Dubai Sports
Sharjah Sports

Rest of the world

Territory Broadcaster Ref
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Croatia
 Montenegro
 North Macedonia
 Serbia
 Slovenia		 Sport Klub [8]
 Poland Polsat Sport [9]
 Greece Nova Sports

Controversies
Further information: Arabian Gulf Cup stampede

Ahead of the opening ceremony, a scuffle ensued in the VIP section of the Basra International Stadium. Sheikh Fahad al-Nasser, who represents Kuwait's emir, was unable to enter as a result, and the Kuwaiti delegation left the stadium soon after. The Iraqi representatives apologised for the incident.[10][11]

A stampede outside Basra International Stadium, ahead of the final, killed between one and four people and injured at least 60 others, according to reports.[12] The incident was said to have been caused by thousands of fans without tickets turning up to the match early while the gates were still closed.[13][11] In the afternoon, Basra authorities said the situation was under control and that the crowds had moved away from the stadium, and the final match went underway as scheduled.[14]

Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al-Thani, president of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation, praised the outstanding organization of the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup by hosts Iraq, calling it a big success.[15][16]

See also

References
  1. "نحو شراكة رائدة ونجاح مثمر مرتقب .. اتحاد كأس الخليج العربي لكرة القدم يتفق مع مجموعة زين لرعاية خليجي 25" (in Arabic). Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation. 29 December 2022.
  2. Lucente, Adam (19 January 2023). "Iraq wins Arabian Gulf Cup championship defeating Oman in Basra". Al-Monitor.
  3. "قرعة "خليجي 25".. العودة إلىسحب قرعة كأس الخليج العربي "خليجي 25"" (in Arabic). beIN Sports. 25 October 2022.
  4. "Stage set for Arabian Gulf Cup draw". 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  5. "قرعة "خليجي 25".. العودة إلى العراق بعد 40 سنة" (in Arabic). Emarat Al-Youm. 24 October 2022.
  6. الدقاق, المعتصم بالله (2023-01-17). "جائزة المركز الأول في كأس الخليج 2023 بطولة خليجي 25". خبرني (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  7. "سيطرة عراقية على الجوائز الفردية لكأس الخليج". 19 January 2023.
  8. "Match. Yemen vs. Saudi Arabia". livesoccertv.com. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  9. "Arabian Gulf Cup 2023 na sportowych antenach Polsatu". polsatsport.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  10. "Brawl at Arabian Gulf Cup shocks onlookers, forces Kuwaiti delegation to leave". Al Arabiya English. 2023-01-07. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  11. "Four dead, dozens injured in stampede at Gulf Cup in Iraq". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  12. "Deadly crush outside Iraq football stadium before Gulf Cup final". BBC. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  13. "Stampede outside stadium in Iraq kills 2, injures dozens". AP. 19 January 2023.
  14. "25th Gulf Cup: Seats secured by Iraq government for Omani fans to attend Gulf Cup final". Times of Oman. 2023-01-19. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  15. "Qatar Football Association President praises Iraq's hosting of Gulf Cup". thepeninsulaqatar.com. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  16. "Gulf Cup success has exceeded our expectations: AGCFF president". gulf-times.com. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
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