FOOTBALL – Bahrain's youth men’s football national team were drawn yesterday in a tough Group A for the second edition of the U-17 Gulf Cup being Doha, Qatar.
The Gulf Football Federation (GFF) conducted the official draw yesterday for the regional championship, which has served up a number of exciting match-ups set to take place from October 16 to November 4.
The competition will feature 10 nations, making it its biggest edition in history.
Teams were seeded into five pots of two for the draw.
The Bahrainis emerged in Group A alongside the UAE, Oman, tournament guests China, and hosts Qatar, while Group B is composed of reigning champions Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, and Egypt, who are also guests.
The top two squads in each group will advance to the semi-finals, which will be contested in a knockout format, with each group’s winner drawn against the runner-up from the other group.
There will be no extra time in the knockout rounds, therefore any semi-final or final still level at full-time goes straight to penalties.
The expanded line-up of participating youth national teams raises the level of competition and offers teams qualified for the Fifa U-17 World Cup 2026 in Qatar valuable preparation ahead of the tournament, which kicks off November 19.
Aside from the U-17 Gulf Cup, Bahrain’s youth men’s squad are also gearing up for the qualifiers of the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2027, to be held in November later this year.