Saudi Arabia drawn in tough group with Iraq, Kuwait, Egypt and Yemen for U-17 Gulf Cup

The group stage draw for the second edition of the U-17 Gulf Cup, held today via video conference at the Gulf Football Federation headquarters in Doha, placed defending champions Saudi Arabia in Group B alongside Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen and Egypt.

Host nation Qatar was drawn in Group A with the UAE, Oman, Bahrain and China. The draw divided the ten participating teams into two groups, marking the largest participation in the tournament's history.

Tournament kicks off in October

The tournament will take place in Qatar from October 16 to November 4, 2026, organized by the local Qatari committee in coordination with the Gulf Football Federation. Teams were seeded into five pots based on the previous edition's rankings, with new teams included according to the draw mechanism.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, which will be played in a knockout format. The winner of Group A will face the runner-up of Group B, and vice versa.

Record participation and competitive opportunities

This edition features a record 10 teams: the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Yemen, Egypt and China. The tournament offers teams valuable preparation for upcoming international competitions, most notably the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026™.

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Saudi Arabia won the inaugural edition of the tournament, held in Qatar in 2025, after defeating the UAE 2-0 in the final to become the first champions of the competition.