The Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation announced today the schedule of matches for the “Gulf Champions League for Clubs” tournament, which will start on October 22nd and continue until April 15th of next year 2025.
The tournament witnesses the participation of eight clubs: Al-Arabi of Qatar, Al-Nasr of the Emirates, Al-Riffa of Bahrain, Al-Qadisiyah of Kuwait, Al-Ittifaq of Saudi Arabia, Al-Ahly Sanaa of Yemen, Dhofar of Oman, and Dohuk of Iraq.
Al-Arabi, the Qatari football representative, will host its Kuwaiti counterpart, Al-Qadisiyah, on October 23 at Al-Thumama Stadium in the first round of Group Two competitions, while Al-Ettifaq of Saudi Arabia will meet its guest, Al-Riffa of Bahrain, within the same group.
Within the first group, in the first round, Dohuk of Iraq will play against its guest, Ahly Sanaa of Yemen, on October 22 at the Dohuk Club Stadium in Iraq, while on the same day, Al-Nasr of the Emirates will face its guest, Dhofar of Oman, at Al Maktoum Stadium.
Al-Arabi Qatar will play its match in the second round against its host, Al-Riffa, Bahrain, on the 5th of next November, while on the 27th of the same month, it will host Al-Ettifaq, Saudi Arabia, at Al-Thumama Stadium.
In the return round, Al-Arabi will play its first match against its host Al-Ettifaq, Saudi Arabia, on December 4th, before visiting Al-Qadisiyah of Kuwait on February 5th, then concludes the group stage by facing Bahrain’s Al-Riffaa in Doha on February 18th.
The draw for the tournament resulted in Al-Arabi of Qatar heading the second group, which included alongside it the clubs (Al-Ittifaq of Saudi Arabia, Al-Riffa of Bahrain and Al-Qadisiyah of Kuwait).
As for the first group, it was headed by Dohuk of Iraq and included alongside it (Al-Nasr of the Emirates, Dhofar of Oman and Ahli Sanaa of Yemen).
The tournament system stipulates that the first and second of each group will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held in a home-and-away system on the 4th of next March until the 12th of the same month, while the final match will be presented in a home-and-away system on the 8th and 15th of next April.
It is worth noting that incentives and prizes have been allocated to the participating teams, where the first-place “champion” team will receive a financial prize of three million dollars, while the second-place team’s prize will be one million dollars.
The Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation allocated a financial contribution to the participating clubs and other incentive financial prizes in accordance with the regulations, whereby a financial sum of three hundred thousand dollars was allocated to the clubs participating in the tournament, in addition to the reward for qualifying for the semi-finals of one hundred thousand dollars.
There will also be a contribution for traveling to play outside the home ground, as each participating club will be given a financial sum of thirty thousand dollars for every match in which it plays outside its home ground, in addition to a bonus for winning the match, which amounts to thirty thousand dollars for every match in which it wins.
