The Gulf Football Federation (GFA) has officially announced that the 25th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup will be hosted by the Iraqi city of Basra in 2021. In a tweet on its official Twitter account: 25 of the Gulf Cup. "The request and file of Iraq to host (Khaleej 25) in 2021 have been accepted in principle," GCC Secretary General Jassem al-Rumaihi told a press conference after the presidents' meeting in Doha, which currently hosts the 24th edition until December 8.
He added: We will send the criteria for the file of hosting to all unions during the next week, which are the norms of stadiums, hotels, transport and security, and we believe that Iraq has the right to host the tournament, which has not been organized in 40 years ». For his part, President of the Iraqi Football Federation Abdul Khaliq Masood: We have obtained preliminary approval to host the tournament in the city of Basra and the participation of the eight teams.
He added: I consider hosting an achievement of the Iraqi football and the Iraqi people, and God willing, we will meet the standards and conditions of hosting, and we have a government commitment to do so. It is noteworthy that the Iraqi Federation has submitted more than once to host the Gulf Cup since 2013, when he requested to host the twenty-first version, which went to Bahrain because of the lack of completion of facilities and infrastructure suitable for such hosting.