FOOTBALL – THE 27th edition of the Gulf Cup kicks off this evening in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and champions Bahrain are all geared up for their much-anticipated title-defence in the prestigious eight-team tournament.
The kingdom’s senior men’s football national team are only in action tomorrow, but two games will get the festivities underway in the Gulf Football Federation event, which is also dubbed ‘Khaleeji 27’ and is recognised by Fifa.
Bahrain are in Group B for the preliminary round alongside Qatar, the UAE, and Yemen, while Group A is composed of Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, and hosts Saudi.
As part of the pre-competition formalities, officials from the participating national teams took part in a coordination meeting. Bahrain’s contingent were led by Bahrain Football Association (BFA) board member and national team supervisor Shaikh Ahmed bin Isa Al Khalifa. Also on hand were team administrator Abdulla Al Mutawa, team doctor Ahmed Al Aradi, and team media coordinator Mohammed Abdulghaffar.
The meeting reviewed all organisational and administrative matters, and it was decided that the nationals will wear white in their opening assignment tomorrow against Qatar, and red in their other two preliminary stage fixtures.
Bahrain’s clash tomorrow is scheduled for 9pm. The Bahrainis will then face off with the UAE in their next outing on Sunday, also at 9pm, after which they complete this stage against Yemen on Wednesday next week, kicking off at 8.30pm. All times are Bahrain and each match will be held at Jeddah’s Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium.
The Bahrainis held a training session last night at King Abdullah Sports City under the supervision of head coach Dragan Talajic and his staff.
Talajic is scheduled to hold his pre-game Press conference this afternoon to talk about Bahrain’s preparations for the tournament and their aspirations as defending champions. He is expected to be joined on the speakers’ podium by veteran midfielder Sayed Dhiya Saeed.
Saeed is part of Bahrain’s 26-player squad in this year’s Gulf Cup, many of whom were part of their title-winning squad in its previous edition.
The nationals will be hoping to finish amongst their group’s top two in order to advance to the semi-finals, slated for October 3. The final will then be held on October 6 at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
Meanwhile, the BFA announced yesterday that Al Salam Bank is sponsoring transportation for Bahraini fans wishing to support the national team in the tournament. The initiative will see the allocation of a 50-seat bus that will bring supporters to each of their three group games.
This is part of the ongoing cooperation between Al Salam Bank and the BFA, and it aims to boost Bahraini fans’ attendance for the national team’s games.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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