QFA president praises Iraq’s hosting of 25th Gulf Cup
Iraq to meet Oman in final today
HIS Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of Qatar Football Assocation (QFA) and Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) praised the excellent organization of the 25th Gulf Cup by hosts Iraq calling it a big success.
The QFA president in a statement said: “The organisation of “Gulf 25” in Iraq got a very good mark. I did not expect the success of the championship in this way despite some glitches rose to the high technical level. The AGCFF has set several criteria for organising the tournament in the city of Basra and despite some delays in some matters related to hosting we did not think of withdrawing the tournament from Iraq as we were sure that everyone was working with great efforts so that the tournament would be held in Iraq.”
He added: “The next edition of the Gulf Cup will be organized in December of the year 2024 in Kuwait, and I hope the brothers in Kuwait will follow the path of the Iraqi brothers by organizing a successful tournament. As for (Gulf 27), it will be held in December 2025.”
He stressed: “During the last meeting of the Gulf Federation, we discussed the idea of the participation of teams from outside the countries of the Gulf region, which is one of the points related to the development of the tournament and this matter will be put to a vote by the members as a committee will be formed to study proposals for developing the tournament because of the importance of football.”
HE S h eikh Hamad indicated that the Iraqi public is a major reason for the success of “Gul f 25” and helped restore the spirit of the championship with the great support and remarkable attendance at all matches. He thanked the Iraqi people, the Iraqi government and the governor of Basra for their good reception and hospitality, and their support for all Gulf teams.
His Excellency concluded: “There have been previous attempts to include the Gulf Cup in the FIFA calendar but it is difficult as the tournament is held according to a calendar esta blished under the FIFA flag. We will seek to find a suitable situation for the participation of international players, in addition to raising the value of the tournament prizes in the next editions.”
“The AGCFF has set several criteria for organising the tournament in the city of Basra and despite some delays in some matters related to hosting we did not think of withdrawing the tournament from Iraq as we were sure that everyone was working with great efforts so that the tournament would be held in Iraq,” Sheikh Hamad said.