Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Cup Football Championship “Gulf 27” competitions will be launched in Jeddah during the period from September 23 to October 6, 2026, with the participation of eight Gulf teams competing in 15 matches at the stadiums of King Abdullah Sports City and Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City. The generous royal sponsorship of “Gulf 27” gives the tournament an exceptional status, befitting the history of the Gulf Cup and its deep-rooted position in the conscience of the people of the region, as more than just a sporting competition. It is a forum that brings together brothers, strengthens the bonds of love and communication between the peoples of the Gulf, and embodies the spirit of sports competition in its finest form. “Gulf 27” comes in Jeddah as a major Gulf event and a sporting event dear to the people of the region that brings together the elite teams, stars and fans, as this edition is expected to be a new station in the Gulf Cup journey, through an integrated tournament at the technical, organizational, media and public levels.
The Saudi national team, the host of the tournament, will launch its campaign against the Kuwaiti national team, coinciding with the Saudi National Day, on Wednesday, September 23, at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, which has a capacity of 65,000 seats, as part of the opening of the first group competitions, which will witness the confrontation between Iraq and Oman at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium. The tournament also witnesses several prominent confrontations, most notably the meeting between Qatar and Bahrain, the defending champion, on Thursday, September 24, in Group Two, in addition to the confrontation between the UAE and Yemen.
