Sports
In a sporting scene anticipated by football enthusiasts, all eyes turn toward Qatari stadiums as they prepare to host the awaited event, with the Iraqi national team concluding its intensive preparations to defend its title as champion of the inaugural edition of the Gulf Veterans Football Championship. These sporting events are scheduled to take place on Qatari soil during the period extending from October 30 to November 5, amidst full participation from all eight national teams representing Gulf football associations seeking a prominent place in the historical record of this tournament. The Gulf Football Association announced in an official statement that this edition will witness the presence of a brilliant elite of the most prominent stars and legends of round leather in the Gulf region, with three main stadiums hosting the tournament matches totaling fifteen fixtures, namely Hamad Al-Kabir Stadium, Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium, alongside Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium. In a related context, the results of the group stage draw placed the Iraqi team, the holder of the previous edition's title, within the first group described as strong, alongside the national teams of Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait, while the second group included the teams of Qatar as the host country, alongside the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Yemen. On the organizational level, the association revealed the special regulations for the matches, stating that the encounters will be played in two halves, each lasting only twenty minutes, while granting coaching staffs complete freedom to make an unlimited number of player substitutions throughout the course of the match, and in the event that knockout stage matches end in a draw after the original forty minutes have passed, penalty shootouts will be resorted to directly to determine the advancing team. The competition wheel starts on Friday, corresponding to October 30, with an opening match bringing together the Qatari national team and its Bahraini counterpart at five-thirty in the evening at Hamad Al-Kabir Stadium, while the tournament will conclude with the grand final match on Thursday, November 5, at exactly seven in the evening at Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium. It is worth noting that these events will be held concurrently with the rest days of the Under-17 Gulf Cup 2026 hosted by Doha as well, within a crowded football schedule that also witnesses the organization of the FIFA U-17 World Cup during the period extending from October 19 to December 13 next.
