25th Gulf Cup in Basra to kick off with Iraq vs Oman

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The 25th Gulf Cup football tournament in Iraq’s southern city of Basra will kick off on Friday with the host nation playing Oman in the first match. The tournament marks the first time the war-torn country has hosted the regional competition since 1979.

The tournament will take place from January 6 to January 19. Basra had been selected to host three previous editions of the Gulf Cup since 2010 but the venue was changed each time due to concerns that Iraq was not safe enough.

The opening ceremony will kick off with a live musical performance by Iraqi singer Rahma Riad in Basra International Stadium. The ceremony will be attended by numerous Iraqi and Kurdish leaders and top officials, including President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani.

The Iraqi national team will play Oman at 7PM local time (4 GMT), with the Saudi national team playing Yemen later in the evening at 9:45PM (6:45 GMT).

Tens of thousands of avid football fans have flocked to Basrafrom all across the Arabian Gulf to attend matches of the prestigious tournament.

Muhsin al-Mandalawi, first deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, called on the people of the county to fully support Basra in hosting the tournament, calling the event a “real test” to determine Iraq’s capability to host such competitions.

“It is our duty as Iraqis that our efforts be dedicated to making the tournament a success, as well as providing all that is needed for its success,” read a statement from Mandalawi on Friday.

Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister Marour Barzani congratulated the people of Basra and all Iraqis for the event, saying he was “overwhelmed with great happiness” on the occasion of the tournament’s launch. 

The matches will be played in Basra International Stadium, which has a capacity of 65,000 people, as well as al-Minaa Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000 people.

The only time Iraq hosted the Gulf Cup was in 1979, from which the Iraqi team emerged victorious.

Despite the country’s constant state of political instability and disunity, the Iraqi population’s special connection to the sport of football has managed to unify the people at times of major regional and international tournaments, coming to the support of the national team regardless of their humble results.