FOOTBALL – Bahrain are set to participate in an international friendly football competition in China next month, an official from the kingdom’s senior men’s national team confirmed yesterday.
The four-nation event has been titled the CFA China Team Guangzhou International Football Invitational Tournament 2026.
It is scheduled for November 14 to 17 in Guangzhou and it also includes the senior men’s squads of Malaysia, Yemen, and hosts China.
Bahrain are taking part in the event instead of their originally scheduled participation in the 52nd edition of the King’s Cup in Thailand, which is set for November 9 to 17.
The nationals were set to take to the pitch in the event with Oman, Tajikistan, and the host Thais before pulling out.
Brunei have been announced as replacements for the kingdom’s side.
In China, Bahrain’s senior men are reportedly playing two matches – first against Yemen on November 14 and then against China on November 17.
They will not be taking on Malaysia, according to a schedule issued by the Chinese Football Association (CFA).
Malaysia will also play hosts China on the first matchday while the Malaysians will take on their Yemeni counterparts on the second and concluding day of the competition.
All games are set to be held at Guangzhou’s Tianhe Sports Centre Stadium.
China and Yemen are both participating with Bahrain in the AFC Asian Cup 2027, currently scheduled for January and February in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s newly appointed senior men’s national team head coach Felix Sanchez was in the kingdom yesterday but departed late at night.
Sanchez arrived on Thursday and was reportedly planning to attend one of the two games yesterday in the 2026-27 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League.
But his flight out of Bahrain was scheduled for 9pm, making him unable to watch any of the fixtures at the venue, according to a Bahrain Football Association (BFA) official.
Following his brief visit, the Spaniard is expected to return to the kingdom in about two weeks’ time in early November.
Sanchez was announced just earlier this week as having reached an agreement with the BFA to fill the role vacated by former head tactician Dragan Talajic.
The BFA had added that Sanchez will officially begin his tenure with Bahrain during the next Fifa international match window, scheduled between November 9 and 17 with the Bahrainis set to play in China.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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