The Gulf Football Federation (GFF; ) is an independent regional football body for eight member countries, those being the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates), as well as Iraq and Yemen. It was established in May 2016, and its main competition is the Arabian Gulf Cup.
History Several preparatory meetings were held in 2015. The federation then was founded in 2016 as Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation to reflect the region's oldest competition: the Arabian Gulf Cup. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Thani of Qatar was named as the first president. In 2026, the federation was renamed to Gulf Football Federation.
Member associations National AssociationYear Joined Bahrain2016 Iraq Kuwait Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Yemen
Competitions
The GFF organises the Arabian Gulf Cup for national football teams, which is held every two years, and the GFF Gulf Club Champions League for club teams, which is held every season. The possibility of holding a women's competition in the future has also been discussed.
Current title holders
Competition Year Champions Title Runners-up Next edition DatesNational teams Arabian Gulf Cup 2024–25 2nd 2026 23 September – 6 October 2026 Gulf Cup for Veteran Players 2025 Iraq 1st Oman 2026 30 October – 5 November 2026 U-23 Gulf Cup 2025 5th TBD TBD U-20 Gulf Cup 2025 2nd TBD TBD U-17 Gulf Cup 2025 6th 2026 16 October – 4 November 2026Club teams Gulf Club Champions League 2025–26 Al-Rayyan 1st Al-Shabab 2026–27 13 October 2026 – 30 April 2027 Gulf Club Super Cup— 2026 TBD
Rankings
Men's national teams Rankings are calculated by FIFA.
+FIFA Men's Rankings (as of 19 December 2024)GFF*FIFA+/-National TeamPoints1481474.602561442.863591406.564631385.575801306.676811305.5271341108.7281581018.27*Local rankings based on FIFA ranking points
Women's national teams Rankings are calculated by FIFA.
+FIFA Women's Rankings (as of 13 December 2024)GFF*FIFA+/-National TeamPoints193 11216.482116 11158.263166 8877.084173 1862.80870.00864.00*Local rankings based on FIFA ranking points
Team of the Year Men FIFA Men's World Ranking + Teams ranking in the top four – Men'sYearFirstSecondThirdFourth 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 Women FIFA Women's World Ranking + Teams ranking in the top four – Women'sYearFirstSecondThirdFourth 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
See also West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) FIFA Arab Cup
References
External links