Doha, Qatar: The draw for the third edition of the Gulf Club Champions League (GCCL) will be held today via video conference from the headquarters of the Gulf Football Federation, with 12 clubs taking part.
Qatar will be represented by Al Duhail and Qatar SC, both making their debuts in the Gulf Championship.
The first seeding pot features Saudi clubs Al Ettifaq and Neom, along with UAE side Al Nasr. Al Duhail, Qatar SC and UAE club Ajman are in the second pot.
Iraq’s Erbil and Al Zawraa, along with Oman’s Al Shabab, are in the third pot, while Bahrain’s Al Riffa, Kuwait’s Kazma and Yemen’s Shaab Hadramout make up the fourth pot.
The 12 teams will be drawn into three groups of four. The top two teams in each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will advance to the quarter-finals.
The group stage will be played on a home-and-away basis from October 13, while the quarter-finals will also be contested over two legs from March 2 to 17, 2027.
The semi-finals and final are scheduled to be played from April 23 to 30, 2027.
The third edition has attracted the largest field in the competition’s history, with the number of participating clubs increasing from eight to 12, further strengthening the Gulf club competition. Qatar’s Al Rayyan won the second edition last year, beating Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab 3-0 in the final.
