Bahrain set to participate in Arabian Gulf Cup

Bahrain will be participating in the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup. This was announced late last night by the Bahrain Football Association (BFA). Bahrain had initially pulled out of the tournament last July. The prestigious biennial competition is scheduled to take place from November 24 to December 6 in Doha.

The decision to participate was taken by the BFA following the invitation from the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation. With Bahrain now competing, the Gulf Cup is set to feature six nations. The others are hosts Qatar, Kuwait, Yemen, Iraq and defending champions Oman. The match schedule for the tournament had already been determined, but with Bahrain’s addition, it is expected to be revised.

Games are scheduled to be played at Khalifa International Stadium in the Qatari capital. Prior to the Gulf Cup, Bahrain’s senior men’s national football team, headed by Portuguese coach Helio Sousa, will be playing two joint-qualifying matches for the Fifa World Cup 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup 2023.  

Bahrain have taken part in all but the 1972 edition of the previous Gulf Cup competitions. The Bahrainis have never won the title, but finished as runners-up four times while claiming the bronze medal thrice. Bahrain had originally announced they were pulling out along with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It is not known at this time if those other two teams will now also be competing