Khalid Mubarak, captain of Qatar Under-17 Football team speaking during the press conference in Doha. RIGHT: Oscar Fernandez, Coach of Qatar.
DOHA: Six countries will vie for top honours in the GCC Under-17 Cup which begins today at Aspire Dome.
Hosts Qatar and five regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Kingdom of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman are the teams taking part in the tournament.
The tournament will consist of two groups where the teams will compete against one another and then battle for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th places.
The tournament was first held in 2001. The Under-17 Gulf Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Arab football ruling body. Saudi Arabia holds the record for most titles, emerging winners a total of four times, followed by United Arab Emirates (UAE) who have bagged the winner’s trophy on three occasions.
Saudi Arabia won the title in 2012, 2011, 2008 and 2003 while UAE emerged champions in 2010, 2009, and 2006.
“We are pleased to host the GCC U-17 Cup once again and are hoping to witness interesting matches in this tournament,” said Khalid Al Kuwari, Director of Marketing and Communications of Qatar Football Association (QFA). The Peninsula
