The Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation has decided the identity of the host country for the next edition of the tournament, as it has been officially decided that the competitions of "Gulf 28" will be held in Iraq, following the meeting of the Executive Office held in Jeddah on the sidelines of the competitions of "Gulf 27".
The decision came during the meeting held on Monday, headed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation, where the members of the Executive Office discussed the file of hosting the next edition of the tournament before settling on granting Iraq the right to organize it.
The meeting touched upon a number of files related to the future of the Gulf tournaments, in addition to the plans for developing the Federation's competitions. It also witnessed a review of the latest developments regarding the current edition of "Gulf 27", and the entitlements and tournaments scheduled to be organized in the coming period.
The Gulf Cup tournament returns to Iraqi soil again after three years since the city of Basra hosted the competitions of "Gulf 25" in 2023, before the tournament moved to Kuwait, then to Saudi Arabia, which is hosting the current edition in the city of Jeddah.
And "Gulf 28" will be the third edition hosted by Iraqi territory in the history of the tournament, after Iraq previously organized "Gulf 5" in the capital, Baghdad, in 1979, then "Gulf 25" in the city of Basra in 2023.
Thus, Iraq regains the hosting of the Gulf event after a three-year absence, pending the determination of the official city and dates for the "Gulf 28" competitions in the coming period.