The 27th Arabian Gulf Cup, known as Khaleeji Arabian Dyar 27 for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th edition of the biennial football competition for the eight members of the Gulf Football Federation. The tournament was held in Saudi Arabia from 23 September to 6 October 2026.
Hosts Saudi Arabia won their fourth title by beating United Arab Emirates 2–0 in the final.
Teams
TeamAppearanceApril 2026 27th Winners (1992, 2004, 2014) 55 18th Winners (1979, 1984, 1988, 2023) 57 (hosts) 26th Winners (1994, 2002, 2003–04) 61 26th Winners (2007, 2013) 68 25th Winners (2009, 2017–18) 79 (holders) 27th Winners (2019, 2024–25) 91 27th Winners (1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2010) 134 12th Group stage (2003–04, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017–18, 2019, 2023, 2024–25) 149
Draw The draw was held on 19 May 2026 at in Jeddah. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four, by selecting one team from each of the four ranked pots. Their pot positions were based on the FIFA rankings from 1 April 2026 (shown in parentheses). As hosts, Saudi Arabia were automatically seeded at the top of Group A, with corresponding Pot 2 team the United Arab Emirates thus placed in Group B.
Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4
Squads
Each team had to register a squad of 26 players, three of whom had to be goalkeepers.
Venues
Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City Stadium Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium Capacity: 62,345 Capacity: 27,000
Officials Source:
Group stage TiebreakersTeams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams; Goal difference in all group matches; Goals scored in all group matches; Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card (be it from direct or two yellows) = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points); Drawing of lots.
Group A
Group B
Knockout stage In the knockout stage, extra time and a penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary.
Bracket
Semi-finals
Final
Winner
Goalscorers
Discipline A player or team official is automatically suspended for the next match of the tournament for the following offenses: Receiving a red card (red card suspensions may be extended for serious offenses). Receiving two yellow cards in the tournament;
The following suspensions occurred during the tournament: + Tournament suspensions for players and team officials Player Offense(s) Suspension(s) Rebin Sulaka in 2026 FIFA World Cup vs (26 June 2026) Group A vs (matchday 1; 23 September) Ahmed Fathy in Group B vs (24 September) Group B vs (matchday 2; 27 September) Abbas Al Asfoor in Group B vs (24 September) Group B vs (matchday 2; 27 September) Abdulwahab Al Awadhi in Group A vs (26 September) Group A vs (matchday 3; 29 September)
Broadcasters TerritoryBroadcasterRef. (host)SBAhttps://x.com/riyadiyatv/status/2102527410147152020https://x.com/mbc1/status/2102531555071574468MBCSBSSportdigitalBRTCIMNAl-Rabia'aKTVShashahttps://x.com/AGCFF/status/2102423319198793729PARThttps://x.com/AGCFF/status/2102423319198793729Al-KassADMNDMISBAESPN
Notes
References
External links Tournament home at GFF