FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN were handed a losing start last night in the Gulf Cup for Veteran Players 2026, which kicked off in Doha, Qatar.
The kingdom’s representatives bowed to the hosts 0-2 in their Group B clash at Grand Hamad Stadium.
Qatar’s Meshaal Abdulla scored on either side of half-time to help lift his team to the win and earn the full three points.
The Bahrainis will now be looking to bounce back when they return to the pitch tonight against the UAE at 7pm at Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium.
The nationals then complete their preliminary round schedule on Monday against Yemen, also at 7pm. All times are Bahrain.
The tournament features the most prominent football stars and legends, all aged 40 years old and above, from the eight member nations of the Gulf Football Federation.
Matches are being held over two halves, with each match lasting 40 minutes.
At the end of the preliminaries, the top two from each pool will qualify for the semi-finals, which are scheduled for Tuesday night. The final will then be held on Thursday at Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium.
Unlimited substitutions are allowed per game, and if any knockout contest ends in a draw after 40 minutes, penalty kicks will be used immediately to determine the victor. Group A is composed of Saudi, Kuwait, Oman, and Iraq.
Bahrain have a 23-player squad in the tournament.
The roster features Talal Yusuf, Ismaeel Abdullatif, Mahmood Abdulrahman, Sayed Mohammed Adnan, Sayed Mahmood Jalal, Hussain Ali, Hamad Rakea, Abdulla Al Dakhel, Mohammed Salman, Basel Sultan, Saleh Abdulhameed, Ebrahim Alobaidli, Khaled Jassim, Hadi Ali, Mousa Mubarak, Ahmed Hassan, Yasser Amer, Hamad Alsaba, Dawood Saad, and Saleh Farhan, along with goalkeepers Ali Hassan, Abdulrahman Abdulkarim, and Ali Saeed.