Al Duhail will play NEOM SC, Al Shabab SC and Shaab Hadramaut SC in Group A.
Doha, Qatar: Al Duhail and Qatar SC will face challenging group campaigns in the 2026-2027 Gulf Club Champions League (GCCL) as the two Qatar clubs aim to keep the trophy in the country after Al Rayyan’s triumph in the last edition.
The third edition of the tournament will kick off on October 13, with Al Duhail drawn in Group A alongside Saudi Arabia’s NEOM SC, Oman’s Al Shabab SC and Yemen’s Shaab Hadramaut SC.
Qatar SC will compete in Group B against UAE’s Al Nasr SC, Iraq’s Al Zawraa SC and Bahrain’s Al Riffa SC. Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq SC, UAE’s Ajman SC, Iraq’s Erbil SC and Kuwait’s Kazma SC were drawn in Group C.
Both Qatar clubs are making their debuts in the Gulf Championship and will be looking to make an impact in the expanded competition.
Al Rayyan, who won the previous edition after beating Al Shabab 3-0 in the final, will not defend their title as they are featuring in the AFC Champions League this season.
Al Duhail missed out on continental competition this season but have made clear their ambition to challenge for silverware. They began their Qatar Stars League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Al Sailiya.
“Al Duhail has not made it to continental tournaments. We feel sad about that and we have a lot of work to do. We have young players and we have high-quality players and we aspire to win the championship this season,” midfielder Assim Madibo said after win over Al Sailiya. Qatar SC, meanwhile, started their QSL campaign with a 2-2 draw against Al Wakrah.
The tournament has expanded from eight teams in its second edition to 12 this season, with clubs representing the Gulf Football Federation’s member associations.
The group stage will be played on a home-and-away basis. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed sides, will advance to the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals will also be played over two legs from March 2 to 17, 2027.
The semi-finals and final are scheduled from April 23 to 30, 2027, with the knockout rounds also contested over two legs.
The draw was conducted online yesterday from the headquarters of the Gulf Football Federation.
The 12 clubs were seeded into four pots according to the AFC club rankings for the 2026-2027 season, while clubs from the same member association could not be drawn in the same group.
