Gulf Tour: Landmarks and Virtues

SME-By / Abdullah Al-Harazi
Yesterday evening, the 26th edition of the Gulf Cup Football Tournament kicked off in Kuwait. This tournament is credited with what has been achieved for Gulf and Arab sports in the past decades. Before the tournament that started in Bahrain in 1970, there were no modern stadiums, but it did not end the first round in the countries of the region until special stadiums were built for it, led by Al-Malaz Stadium in Riyadh, Hamad bin Khalifa in Qatar, Sheikh Zayed in Abu Dhabi, Sultan Qaboos in Oman, and Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad. Before starting its second round, the Gulf teams had climbed the Asian pyramid with Kuwait winning the 1980 Asian Cup, and the arrival of the Blue team, the owner of the highest number of Gulf Cup titles, to the Moscow Olympics, 1980, and the World Cup in Spain 1982. From there, the Saudi Green team received the banner by keeping the Asian Cup in two consecutive sessions, and a third in 1996, and then reaching the 1994 World Cup in America. As soon as the Green team learned this path, it continued The journey included Iraq reaching the World Cup finals in Mexico 1986, the Emirates Italy 1990, Qatar winning the Asian Cup twice, and Iraq once, in 2007. More importantly, the tournament continued to explode the energies of the region’s youth, with ambitions to sit on the Asian summit and participate permanently in the World Cup until Qatar was able to host and organize the 2022 World Cup in an ideal and historic edition, raising the ceiling of Saudi ambition to host the 2034 tournament with a record number of 48 world teams. Returning to sports facilities, 27 sports facilities were built on the shores of the Gulf and Yemen thanks to the Gulf Cup. The countries of the region, led by Qatar, presented a group of modern stadiums in the last World Cup that have become a model for football stadiums in the world. Their specifications and equipment will only be surpassed by the 15 stadiums that Saudi Arabia is preparing for the 2034 World Cup, which will be unique. During the journey, several Gulf leaders emerged who left their mark on the management of world football from their presence at the top of the Asian Federation and the FIFA Executive Committee. The journey is still ongoing and the goal remains. Every time we reach the top, we aspire to the next one until we reach the sky. Welcome to the Gulf Cup, the championship of landmarks and generosity.