The 2026–27 GFF Gulf Club Champions League will be the 33rd edition of the GFF Gulf Club Champions League, a football competition for clubs from the eight member nations of the Gulf Football Federation (GFF), and the first under a new 12-team format.
Al-Rayyan were the reigning champions, but they will be unable to defend their title as they have instead qualified for the AFC Champions League Two.
Association team allocation The team entries allocation was based on the AFC club competitions ranking for the 2026–27 season.
Participation for 2026–27 GFF Gulf Club Champions League Participating Not participating
RankingAssociationGroup stage slotsGFFAFC11224235241225161617172118431
Teams TeamQualification method Al-Ettifaq2025–26 Saudi Pro League seventh place8th Neom2025–26 Saudi Pro League eighth place1st Al-Nasr2025–26 UAE Pro League sixth place6th Ajman2025–26 UAE Pro League seventh place1st Al-Duhail2025–26 Qatar Stars League fifth place1st Qatar SC2025–26 Qatar Stars League sixth place5th Erbil2025–26 Iraq Stars League third place1st Al-Zawraa2025–26 Iraq Stars League fourth place1st Al-Riffa2025–26 Bahraini Premier League third place13th Al-Shabab2025–26 Oman Professional League runners-up2nd Kazma2025–26 Kuwaiti Premier League fourth place8th Al-Shaab Hadramaut2025–26 Yemeni League leaders1st
Notes
Draw The draw was held on 24 August 2026. The 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four, by selecting one team from each of the four ranked pots.
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Al-Ettifaq Neom Al-Nasr Ajman Al-Duhail Qatar SC Erbil Al-Zawraa Al-Shabab Al-Riffa Kazma Al-Shaab Hadramaut
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 was 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 as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points); Drawing of lots.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Ranking of third-placed teams The two best third-placed teams from the three groups advance to the knockout stage along with the three group winners and three runners-up.
Knockout stage The knockout stage will be held on a home-and-away basis, with the quarter-final matches taking place from 2–17 March 2027, and the semi-finals and final taking place from 23–30 April 2027.
Bracket
Prize money and awards Prize money PositionAmount (USD)Champions3,000,000Runners-up1,000,000 Source:
See also 2026–27 ASEAN Club Championship
References