FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN’S Riffa will be in pot four for today’s official group stage draw for 2026-27 Gulf Club Champions League.
Riffa are one of 12 Gulf clubs participating in the third edition of the Gulf Football Federation (GFF) tournament.
The draw is scheduled to be conducted by the GFF in Doha today at 12noon, Bahrain time. It will be held virtually from the GFF headquarters.
The group stage will be played in a double round-robin format, with teams facing each other home and away, starting on October 13.
The four pots of three teams apiece have been determined based on the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ranking of member association clubs for the 2026-27 campaign.
Also in pot four with Riffa are Kuwait’s Kazma SC and Yemen’s Sha’ab Hadramout SC. Pot one includes Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq SC and NEOM SC, alongside the UAE’s Al Nasr SC. Pot two features the UAE’s Ajman SC together with Qatar’s Al Duhail SC and Qatar SC. Pot three consists of Iraq’s Erbil SC and Al Zawraa SC, along with Oman’s Al Shabab SC.
Under the competition regulations, clubs from the same country are kept apart in the group stage. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams across the three groups, will advance to the quarter-finals, which will be played over two legs.
The third edition is set to feature the largest field since the competition’s launch, with the number of participating clubs increasing from eight to 12.
The group stage is scheduled to conclude on February 17 next year, followed by the last eight from March 2 to 17. The semi-finals and final will take place between April 23 and 30.
Riffa are currently gearing up for the start of their national competitions this weekend with the 2026-27 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League.
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