Written by / Muhammad Al Joker
Today, the delegation of the national football team leaves for Basra Al-Fayhaa, to participate in the Arab Gulf Football Cup for the 23rd time in the history of our participation, which we consider the mother of the tournaments, because of its great importance to the people of the region in particular, and because of its effects and stories for us with it, The year 72 began in the Riyadh session with the beginning of the establishment of the Emirates Football Association, where we were represented by a delegation, which included Hassan Musa and Muhammad Al-Youssef, in a coordination meeting, held in the city of Jeddah in April 1971, and the Gulf delegations welcomed us, and asked us to quickly join FIFA, so that we could Participation, and it was an important event for our sport, and with the establishment of the state, the matter changed, so the first participation began despite our absence from the first session in the year 70 in Manama, and the relationship was renewed in all the following tournaments, and that participation came to lay a pillar of the modern state, as the wise leadership was keen on the presence of the people of the country In regional, continental and international sporting events.
Today, we are trying, as much as possible, to remember some of the historical situations, stories, narratives and anecdotes that we encountered in the previous Gulf Cup tournaments, and before the launch of “Gulf 25” next Friday, as Basra turned into a bride, decorated its streets and became ready to receive the event, which we consider a sports wedding that has its own status, and we participate With the beginning of the new year, which we hope will be a good year for all of us, and for Emirati and Gulf sports every prosperity and development, especially the football team that arrived and was met with a wonderful reception from the brothers. They lived a good professional experience, and today in this corner, which returns after a period of rest after the exceptional World Cup in Doha, we return with my personal anecdotes and memories with the Gulf Cup tournaments.
And we want to remind you that we received the Egyptian Ismaili team in the sixties, nicknamed “the dervishes” after winning the African title, and played against the Dubai national team, in order to support the Egyptian war effort, and Shehta was the first full-time coach, who was hired by Al-Ahly in Dubai, during the period of Nasser Lootah, and due to his good relationship With the founder of the Ismaili, the famous Egyptian businessman Othman Ahmed Othman, Shehta nominated us to train the national team, after the blessing and support of the late Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid, may God rest his soul, to train the national team. We continue.
