The 21st Arabian Gulf Cup (Arabic: كأس الخليج العربي) was the twenty-first edition of the biennial football competition. It took place in Bahrain in January 2013. The competition was originally scheduled to be hosted in the city of Basra, Iraq, but was moved to Bahrain in October 2011 to ensure that Iraq could suitably host the competition in the 22nd edition.[1]

21st Arabian Gulf Cup
كأس الخلیج العربي 2013، خليجي 21
Tournament details
Host countryBahrain
Dates5–18 January
Teams8
Venue(s)2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions United Arab Emirates (2nd title)
Runners-up Iraq
Third place Kuwait
Fourth place Bahrain
Tournament statistics
Matches played16
Goals scored36 (2.25 per match)
Attendance319,000 (19,938 per match)
Top scorer(s)Kuwait Abdulhadi Khamis
United Arab Emirates Ahmed Khalil
(3 goals)
Best player(s)United Arab Emirates Omar Abdulrahman
Best goalkeeperIraq Noor Sabri
Fair play award Iraq
2010
2014

Seeding of teams

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The eight participating teams were divided into two groups, Bahrain (the host nation) were placed in Group A, Kuwait (the holder) in Group B, while the rest of the teams were placed in a pot based on FIFA rankings. The draw was held in Bahrain on 18 October 2012.[2]

Pot National Team FIFA Ranking
A   Bahrain (hosts)
115
  Kuwait (holders)
112
B   Iraq
80
  Oman
95
C   Qatar
101
  Saudi Arabia
113
D   United Arab Emirates
116
  Yemen
157

Venues

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Riffa Isa Town
Bahrain National Stadium Khalifa Sports City Stadium
Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: 20,000
 

Opening ceremony

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The opening ceremony of the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup took place in the Bahrain National Stadium on 5 January. The event featured the attendance of Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain, members of the ruling family, Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, Michel Platini, the president of UEFA as well as other officials.[3] Blatter commended the ceremony, stating that "The opening ceremony was very nice: 9.5 out of 10 because perfection does not exist".[4] Following the ceremony, Blatter also stated that the organisational level of the Gulf Cup would have to be improved if it was to be a FIFA-sanctioned event and wanted the cup to be played simultaneously with the Africa Cup of Nations.[4]

Squads

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Group stage

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All times are local time (UTC+03:00).

Group A

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  United Arab Emirates 3 3 0 0 7 2 +5 9
  Bahrain 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
  Qatar 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
  Oman 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
Source: [citation needed]
Bahrain  0–0  Oman
Report
Qatar  1–3  United Arab Emirates
Ibrahim   11' (pen.) Report Abdulrahman   13'
Mabkhout   29'
Ahmed   66'

Qatar  2–1  Oman
Ibrahim   56' (pen.)
El-Sayed   88'
Report Al-Hadhri   71' (pen.)
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Mukhtar Al Yarimi (Yemen)
Bahrain  1–2  United Arab Emirates
Al Malood   75' Report Mabkout   40'
Hassan   85'

United Arab Emirates  2–0  Oman
Khalil   83', 86' Report
Bahrain  1–0  Qatar
Aaish   25' (pen.) Report

Group B

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Iraq 3 3 0 0 5 0 +5 9
  Kuwait 3 2 0 1 3 1 +2 6
  Saudi Arabia 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1 3
  Yemen 3 0 0 3 0 6 −6 0
Source: [citation needed]
Kuwait  2–0  Yemen
Nasser   63'
Al-Mutawa   82'
Report
Saudi Arabia  0–2  Iraq
Report Shaker   18'
Hawsawi   72' (o.g.)

Iraq  1–0  Kuwait
Ahmed   29' Report
Yemen  0–2  Saudi Arabia
Report Al-Qahtani   33'
F. Al-Muwallad   86'

Kuwait  1–0  Saudi Arabia
Nasser   13' Report
Iraq  2–0  Yemen
Ismail   16'
Ahmed   36'
Report

Knockout stage

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The third place match with Bahrain and Kuwait.
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
15 January – Riffa
 
 
  United Arab Emirates1
 
18 January – Riffa
 
  Kuwait0
 
  United Arab Emirates (a.e.t.)2
 
15 January – Riffa
 
  Iraq1
 
  Iraq1 (4)
 
 
  Bahrain 1 (2)
 
Third place
 
 
18 January – Isa Town
 
 
  Kuwait6
 
 
  Bahrain1

Semi-finals

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United Arab Emirates  1–0  Kuwait
Khalil   89' Report

Iraq  1–1 (a.e.t.)  Bahrain
Mahmoud   18' Report Baba   61'
Penalties
Yasin  
Ismail  
Salem  
Mahmoud  
Sabri  
4–2   Husain
  Aaish
  Dhiya
  Al Malood

Third place play-off

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Kuwait  6–1  Bahrain
Khamis   35', 38', 54' (pen.)
Bani   65'
Al-Mutawa   66'
Al Salimi   71'
Report Yusuf   1'

Final

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United Arab Emirates  2–1 (a.e.t.)  Iraq
Abdulrahman   28'
Al Hammadi   107'
Report Mahmoud   81'


 21st Arabian Gulf Cup winners 
 
United Arab Emirates

Second title

Goalscorers

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3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

Team statistics

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This table shows all team performance.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD
Final phase
1   United Arab Emirates 5 5 0 0 10 3 +7
2   Iraq 5 3 1 1 7 3 +4
3   Kuwait 5 3 0 2 9 3 +6
4   Bahrain 5 1 2 2 4 9 −5
Eliminated in the group stage
5   Saudi Arabia 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1
6   Qatar 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2
7   Oman 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3
8   Yemen 3 0 0 3 0 6 −6

Prize money and awards

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Prize money

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The football associations were given prize money for a fourth place and above finish in the competition in riyals.[5]

  • First Place: 2,000,000 Riyals
  • Second Place: 1,500,000 Riyals
  • Third Place: 500,000 Riyals
  • Fourth Place: 250,000 Riyals

Playing awards

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The following awards were given:[5]

Award Player Prize money
Fair Play Award   Iraq 200,000 Riyals
Top Scorer   Abdulhadi Khamis
  Ahmad Khalil
100,000 Riyals
Most Valuable player   Omar Abdulrahman 100,000 Riyals
Best Goalkeeper   Noor Sabri 100,000 Riyals

References

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  1. ^ "Bahrain to host 21st Gulf Cup". QFA.com.qa. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Draw of 21st Gulf Cup in October". QFA.com.qa. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  3. ^ "21st Gulf Cup, opening ceremony kicks off tournament in Bahrain". Qatar Football Association. Retrieved 7 January 2013.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ a b Meenaghan, Gary (6 January 2013). "Gulf Cup: Tournament must be reorganised to get Fifa approval, warns Blatter". The National. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  5. ^ a b "All ready for kick-off". Gulf Weekly. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
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