The Greek Georgios Donis, the coach of the Saudi national team, raised the ceiling of ambitions before the start of the “Green” campaign in the “Gulf 27”, stressing that the goal is to win the title, while the Portuguese Helio Sousa, the coach of Kuwait, stressed that his team enters the opening match in search of a positive result against the home team.
The Saudi and Kuwaiti teams will begin their journey in the tournament, on Wednesday, in the first group competitions, in a confrontation that Sousa described as difficult. Given the history of the Saudi national team and its international experience, Denis is counting on the support of the Saudi fans in the tournament hosted by Jeddah during the period from September 23 to October 6.
Denis confirmed the readiness of the Saudi team for the competitions, noting that holding the tournament in Jeddah gives his team additional motivation to represent the Kingdom in the best way, calling on the fans to support the players and give them confidence to give their best.
The Greek coach explained that he has become more knowledgeable about the Saudi national team players compared to the previous World Cup period, stressing that the goal is to win the “Gulf Cup” despite the difficulty of the competition in light of the presence of distinguished teams.
Denis touched on the absence of Musab Al-Jawir, stressing that his exclusion from the national team camp had an impact on the group, and said that everything would have been perfect had it not been for what happened with the player, and he affected the group with a negative energy, while confirming the continuation of the positive atmosphere within the team.
Al-Akhdar coach rejected the comparison between Mukhtar Ali and Musab Al-Jawir, explaining that each of them plays in a different position, stressing that Al-Jawir was an important number for him and that “his absence is influential, but the team has the necessary quality to compensate for him.”
Denis also stressed the importance of dealing optimally with pressure so that it does not reflect negatively on the players, relying on the experience of some members of the team and the enthusiasm of the young players, and looking forward to the presence and support of large audiences during the tournament.
On the Kuwaiti side, Helio Souza confirmed that his team is looking forward to appearing in the best way and achieving a positive result at the beginning of its career, while acknowledging the strength of the Saudi team and its long history in the Gulf Cup and international experience.
Souza explained that the Saudi team is very strong, and that Kuwait will seek to show its ability and take advantage of its advantages, stressing that his team enters the confrontation with the aim of winning, especially in light of what he described as the improvement of the Kuwaiti team’s performances compared to the previous period.
The Kuwaiti coach spoke about the strength of the Saudi League, saying that it is similar to the international leagues. He explained that his team’s preparations for the confrontation began on September 7, and that the team is ready for the match, and that everything is going as desired. He also praised the sports infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, describing it as wonderful.
For his part, Fahd Al-Hajri, the Kuwaiti national team player, confirmed that the confrontation with Saudi Arabia “will be against a strong team that has prominent names and a world-class league,” stressing that the Kuwaiti players will do their utmost to achieve a positive result. He also thanked Saudi Arabia for its warm hospitality and reception since the team’s arrival in Jeddah.
In the other confrontation within the first group, Iraq and Oman enter their meeting, on Wednesday, with great ambitions. Australian Graham Arnold, coach of the Iraqi national team, announced that his team’s goal is to win the “Gulf 27” title, while Moroccan Tariq Al-Saktiwi, coach of Oman, confirmed that his team had reached the required readiness despite going through a new construction phase.
Arnold stressed that the tournament represents great importance for Iraqi football, and that the team’s ambition is to win the title, explaining that his team is suffering from injuries to some players and that it is working to compensate for their absence, in addition to focusing on improving the fitness aspect.
The Australian coach stressed the importance of the tournament for the young players, stressing that they have a bright future and great skills, and that their participation gives them an important opportunity, adding that the focus should be on the current tournament rather than returning to the past, in an effort to win the title.
In turn, Ayman Hussein, the Iraqi national team player, explained that 50 percent of the current team members are young players, stressing that they possess multiple talents and that they are ready to compete in the tournament, stressing the players’ desire to make the Iraqi fans happy and achieve the title with their support and encouragement. He also thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting, and congratulated it on the occasion of “National Day,” describing it as the second country for Iraqis.
On the other hand, Al-Saktiwi confirmed that the Omani national team is going through a new building process, which he described as smart. He explained that the team went through three camps in preparation for the current stage, and that there is a great desire among the players to make the Omani fans happy and make them proud of their national team and support it in the upcoming tournaments.
The Moroccan coach explained that the previous results of the Omani national team must be taken into account in view of its trips and tours in past tournaments, but he stressed that the national team is currently living in a different era.
Regarding the Iraqi team, the Oman coach explained that his opponent made many changes in his squad compared to the squad he participated in in the last edition of the World Cup, considering this change to be positive, stressing that the Iraqi team is in the strongest group, and that Oman will strive to perform well and achieve victory.
One day before the start of the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Championship “Gulf Diyar Al Arabiya 27” in Jeddah, the crisis in television broadcasting of the championship matches is still continuing, in light of a number of Gulf channels not reaching an agreement with the company that owns the rights, due to a dispute over the financial value.
The Gulf Football Association revealed, on Tuesday, the entities that have so far obtained the rights to broadcast the tournament matches, which begin on Wednesday and continue until October 6, which are the Qatari “Al-Kass” channels, the “Oman Sports” channel, and the Kuwaiti “Shasha” platform.
Jassim Al-Rumaihi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Football Association, confirmed during a press conference on Tuesday that the Federation has communicated with all channels regarding broadcasting the tournament’s competitions, while the parties that have purchased the rights so far have been limited to “Al-Kass”, “Oman Sports”, and the “Shasha” platform.
According to Asharq Al-Awsat sources, the rest of the Gulf channels are still in negotiations with the company that owns the rights, seeking to reduce the financial value requested in exchange for broadcasting the tournament matches, which the channels described as exorbitant.
The sources explained that the company that owned the rights offered the transmission rights for $3 million, equivalent to about 11.2 million Saudi riyals, while the Saudi sports channels and the channels of Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Bahrain submitted an offer worth $1.5 million, a figure that the company that owned the rights refused to come down to.
The sources expected that the coming hours would witness the continuation of negotiations, with the possibility of reaching an agreement during Tuesday night, allowing Gulf channels to begin their preparations to broadcast the matches just hours before the start of the tournament.
The “Gulf 27” competitions begin on Wednesday with two matches in the first group, as Iraq and Oman meet at 5:30 pm Mecca time, before the host Saudi team faces its Kuwaiti counterpart at 9 pm.
The first round will be completed on Thursday with the UAE and Yemen, and Bahrain, the defending champion, facing Qatar.
