| Founded | 1968, officially in 1970 |
|---|---|
| Region | Arabia/Middle East (AFC) |
| Number of teams | 8 (Qualifiers) 4 (Finals) |
| Current champions | Kuwait (10th title) |
| Most successful team | Kuwait (10 titles out of 20 in total) |
| Website | www.gulf-cup.net www.gulfcup.com |
| 2010 Gulf Cup of Nations | |
The Arabian Gulf Cup of Nations (Arabic: كأس الخليج), also known as Khaleeji followed by the edition of the games (e.g. Khaleeji 17, Khaleeji 18, Khaleeji 19, etc), is a football (soccer) tournament currently held every two years rotating the host city every edition. Previously the competition was usually held on a biannual basis, but the history of the competition has also seen it held every 3, or even 4 years, due to political, or organizational problems.
The Gulf Cup of Nations was founded at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico by Arabian Gulf nations, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The First Gulf Cup tournament took place in Bahrain in 1970, and was won by the Kuwaiti team.
For the first time, the 17th edition of the tournament, held in Doha, Qatar in 2004, featured sports such as handball, basketball, and volleyball. The 2007 and 2009 tournaments included these sports as well.
The 2009 Gulf Cup, the 19th edition, took place in Muscat, Oman, from 4 January to 17 January 2009 and was won by Oman, for the first time in their history by beating regional leaders, Saudi Arabia in a penalty shootout.
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. The Gulf Cup has dramatically featured increased attendance in the stadia, as well as increased public, and worldwide attention. This has been in particular due to Qatar's role in expanding and improving the competition. Due to Qatar spending big on sports, and hosting competitions such as the 2006 Asian Games, as well as various international tennis events, the Qatari Ministry of Sports, and the State of Qatar was more than happy to improve the local competition.
During the 2004 Gulf Cup of Nations, which was held in Qatar, the stadiums were generally full, due to Qatar's advertising and impressive planning and handling of the competition. Also during the 2004 competition, a new trophy was constructed in Italy to further push the Gulf Cup of Nations to become a competition on the worldwide level. Another impressive difference between this competition, and previous ones was the fact that more than football was competed for, but this time volleyball, handball, and basketball were also included in the competition.
Another major point that helped Qatar improve the competition was the fact that Al Jazeera Sports, the leading sports channel in West Asia, and North Africa is based in Doha. Al Jazeera Sports won broadcasting rights to the 2004, and exclusively in the 2009 Gulf Cup[1] after a deal ending in $23.5 million,[2] and dramatically reformed the Gulf Cup of Arabian Nations by hosting numerous talk shows and documentaries, on top of filming in HD and perfecting camerawork of matches.[3]
The Gulf Cup of Nations tournament is a tournament not officially recognized by FIFA, but recent steps have been taken to make the competition official, such as the attending of matching from powerful people in football, such as FIFA president, Sepp Blatter,[4] and UEFA president, Michel Platini.[5][6]
| Year | Host | Champion | Runner Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Iraq | ||
| 2013 | Bahrain | ||
| 2010 | Yemen | Kuwait | Saudi Arabia |
| 2009 | Oman | Oman | Saudi Arabia |
| 2007 | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | Oman |
| 2004 | Qatar | Qatar | Oman |
| 2003 | Kuwait | Saudi Arabia | Bahrain |
| 2002 | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | Qatar |
| 2000 | Cancelled | none awarded | none awarded |
| 1998 | Bahrain | Kuwait | Saudi Arabia |
| 1996 | Oman | Kuwait | Qatar |
| 1994 | United Arab Emirates | Saudi Arabia | United Arab Emirates |
| 1992 | Qatar | Qatar | Bahrain |
| 1990 | Kuwait | Kuwait | Qatar |
| 1988 | Saudi Arabia | Iraq | United Arab Emirates |
| 1986 | Bahrain | Kuwait | United Arab Emirates |
| 1984 | Oman | Iraq | Qatar |
| 1982 | United Arab Emirates | Kuwait | Bahrain |
| 1979 | Iraq | Iraq | Kuwait |
| 1976 | Qatar | Kuwait | Iraq |
| 1974 | Kuwait | Kuwait | Saudi Arabia |
| 1972 | Saudi Arabia | Kuwait | Saudi Arabia |
| 1970 | Bahrain | Kuwait | Bahrain |
| Champion(s)[7] | Nation | Year(s) | Runner-Up | Third Place | Fourth Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 times | Kuwait | 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2010 | 1979, | 2002 | 2004 |
| 3 times | Saudi Arabia | 1994, 2002, 2003 | 1972, 1974, 1992, 1998, 2009, 2010 | 1970, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1996 | 1982 |
| 3 times | Iraq | 1979, 1984, 1988 | 1976 | ||
| 2 times | Qatar | 1992, 2004 | 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002 | 1974, 2003 | 1970, 1972, 1986, 1994 |
| 1 time | United Arab Emirates | 2007 | 1986, 1988, 1994 | 1972, 1976, 1982, 1998 | 1974, 1984, 1992, 1996 |
| 1 time | Oman | 2009 | 2004, 2007 | 1990, 1998, 2003 | |
| 0 times | Bahrain | 1970, 1982, 1992, 2003 | 1990, 1994, 2004 | 1976, 1979, 1988, 2002 | |
| 0 times | Yemen |
| Nation | Goals Scored | Tournaments | Games Played | Goals per Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kuwait | 181 | 20 | 99 | 1.83 |
| Saudi Arabia | 144 | 19 | 94 | 1.61 |
| Qatar | 110 | 20 | 97 | 1.16 |
| Bahrain | 103 | 19 | 91 | 1.14 |
| United Arab Emirates | 94 | 19 | 93 | 1.02 |
| Iraq | 88 | 9 | 45 | 2.13 |
| Oman | 69 | 18 | 91 | 0.73 |
| Yemen | 9 | 5 | 18 | 0.50 |
Does not include goals from annulled or abandoned games (1972 - Bahrain games, 1982 & 1990 Iraq games)
Includes 1974 Preliminary Round games
Does not include penalty shoot-out goals
The Gulf Cup of Nations tournament is a tournament not officially recognized by FIFA, but recent steps have been taken to make the competition official, such as the attending of matching from powerful people in football, such as FIFA president, Sepp Blatter,[9] and UEFA president, Michel Platini.[10][11]
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