January 2 – Adding another tournament to a busy decade of football events, Saudi Arabia will host the 2026 Gulf Cup.
The news was confirmed on the sidelines of the current Gulf Cup in Kuwait where the tournament’s general assembly unanimously awarded the finals to Saudi Arabia next year.
A prestigious prize in the region, the Gulf Cup was first played in 1970. It’s the fifth time that Saudi Arabia will organise the tournament, having welcomed the regional finals in 1972, 1988,2002 and 2014.
The staging represents another boost to the country’s hosting credentials. Last year, Saudi Arabia welcomed the Club World Cup, the first FIFA tournament on Saudi soil since the Confederations Cup in 1997.
In 2027, Saudi Arabia will host the Asian Cup, the continental tournament returning to the Arab Kingdom for the first time since 1996. The competition will serve as a first major test ahead of the 2034 World Cup, the second global finals in the Middle East. The Saudi will also host the 2029 Winter Games in Trojena, a development in Neom.
On the field, Saudi Arabia wrapped up 2024 in despair with a 2-1 defeat to Oman to exit the Gulf Cup in the last four. Both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates had even failed to progress from the group stages. Saudi Arabia last won the tournament in 2004. On Saturday, Bahrain and Oman will face each other in the final, an opportunity to welcome the new year with silverware.
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