FOOTBALL – Bahrain’s junior men’s football national team were drawn in a tough group yesterday for the preliminary round of the Gulf Cup U20 2025.
The competition is scheduled to be held in Abha, Saudi Arabia, from August 28 to September 9, with the participation of eight under-20 men’s national squads from across the region.
The Bahrainis will be in Group B alongside Oman, Iraq, and Egypt, while Group A features Qatar, Kuwait, Yemen, and hosts Saudi.
The tournament is being held for the first time under the umbrella of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF). Yesterday’s draw ceremony was conducted by the AGCFF in the Qatari capital of Doha, with representatives from the participating federations and national teams in attendance.
The tournament’s match schedule has yet to be released by organisers.
The kingdom’s junior men’s side will be conducting a training camp in Turkey in preparation for the competition. Their overseas programme is scheduled to be held next month, expected to begin from the first week of August and continuing until the third week, just ahead of the start of the AGCFF championship.
During their camp, the nationals, who are coached by ex-Bahrain international and former Muharraq Club star Ali Aamer, will play a number of friendly games.
The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) announced yesterday a 28-player roster that will be taking part in the camp. The list includes goalkeepers Abdulla Ahmed, Hassan Ali, Abdulla Al Shawi, and Isa Al Thawadi. The rest of the team features Mohammed Bahzad, Hadi Ghazi, Al Tayeb Al Basri, Ali Hussain, Ebrahim Ali, Faisal Rashid, Yahya Adel, Khaled Mohammed, Mohammed Salah, Mubarak Fawaz, Abdulla Osama, Ali Mahran, Amjad Jaafar, Adam Fareed, Khaled Al Khalidi, Ebrahim Ayash, Ebrahim Al Marisi, Mohammed Adel, Qassim Jameel, Abbas Mohammed, Hussain Al Haiki, Abdulrahman Bassam, Khaled Ahmed, and Ahmed Nasser.
Bahrain’s under-20 squad were last in a major competition in September of 2024, when they competed in their qualifying group for the AFC U20 Asian Cup, held in Chinese Taipei.
In the upcoming Gulf Cup U-20, Egypt are participating following the withdrawal of the UAE. The Egyptians will be using the event to gear up for their participation in the Fifa U-20 World Cup in Chile, scheduled for September 27 to October 19.
Saudi are also amongst the 24 squads from six confederations who will be playing in the tournament. The Egyptians are one of four African sides, with the others being Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa, while the Saudis are joined by three other Asian teams in Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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