Al Amn Magazine

individual awards. The Arabian Gulf Cup, Zain 26, is one of the most prominent football tournaments in the region. It was held from December 21, 2024 to January 3, 2025, under the slogan, “The Future is Gulf”. Eight teams took part in the event that an exciting competitive atmosphere for football fans. After the great success achieved by the previous edition hosted by the Iraqi city of Basra, Zain continued as an official partner of the tournament, contributing to supporting sports and enhancing the spirit of Gulf cooperation. The current edition aimed to attract Gulf fans by providing entertainment events, interactive competitions, and designing a logo that reflected the Gulf heritage. Among the participating teams, Kuwait, the host country, has won 10 titles while Iraq, which hosted the previous edition, also won the title. Saudi Arabia is a three-time champion while the UAE has won the tournament twice. Qatar, too, has won the championship three times while Oman has won it twice. Among the participants, it is only Yemen, which is still looking at winning its first title. Bahrain’s fans were allocated 18,000 tickets for the final of the championship, according to the Bahrain Football Association. It said there were a series of meetings with the company selling the tickets to provide the best options for Bahrain’s fans to secure their tickets conveniently. The idea for the tournament was established at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and the first Arabian Gulf Cup took place in 1970 which was won by Kuwait. Kuwait has been the most successful team in the tournament›s history, winning 10 tournaments out of 26 in total, followed by Iraq with four titles, and Saudi Arabia and Qatar with three titles each.