On Monday, the Executive Office of the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation officially agreed to assign hosting the 28th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup Championship “Gulf 28” to Iraq, during the period from 9 to 22 December (December) 2028, and also granted Iraq the right to host the Gulf Olympic Teams Under-23 Championship, which will be held in Basra Governorate during the period from March 21 to April 3, 2027.
The file for hosting “Gulf 28” was decided in favor of Iraq unanimously and without the presence of a competing file, after coordination and movement with the Gulf federations, while Kuwait was chosen as an alternative country in accordance with the regulatory regulations.
Sarmad Abdul-Ilah, Iraq’s representative at the meeting of the Executive Office of the Arab Gulf Cup Federation, revealed in special statements to Asharq Al-Awsat that he was happy that his country was granted the right to host the two tournaments, stressing that Iraq is looking forward to presenting a version at the “Gulf 25” level and better.
Abdul-Ilah said: “We are very happy to be granted the right to host (Gulf 28), as well as the Under-23 Olympic Team Championship in Basra. We extend our sincere thanks to the Executive Office headed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani for this trust. We promise the Gulf fans that the tournament will be as beautiful as the “Gulf 25” and better, and we invite everyone to visit their second country, Iraq, where all the provinces will be welcoming their brothers.”
He explained that the decision to grant hosting came unanimously among the members of the Executive Office, in the absence of another file competing with Iraq, adding: “The vote came unanimously and with absolute confidence from everyone.” There was no other file on the table except the Iraqi file, thanks to the continuous coordination of positions between the president of the federation and Captain Younis Mahmoud with their brothers, the presidents of the Gulf federations.”
Abdul-Ilah touched on the competition in the Gulf Championship, stressing the specificity of the confrontation between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and said: “The Gulf derby between Iraq and Saudi Arabia always has a special taste, but in the end it is a fraternal meeting and love between brothers. Whoever wins, we will congratulate him, and whoever loses, we will say goodbye to you, and we hope that the final will bring us together.”
He added that the levels are close among a number of teams, explaining: “The levels are currently very close between the teams of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar and the Emirates, and they are the most prominent candidates to compete strongly for the title in the final rounds.”
For his part, Suleiman bin Ali Al Busaidi, President of the Omani Football Association, confirmed his country’s support for the Iraqi bid to host the next edition, and said in statements to the media: “We are currently supporting the Iraqi bid to host “Gulf 28,” and we say to the fans: We are waiting for you in Basra.”
In response to a question from Asharq Al-Awsat regarding the Sultanate of Oman’s absence from hosting the Gulf Cup since 2009, Al Busaidi confirmed that the return of the tournament to the Sultanate will come at its time, adding: “Oman’s hosting of the Gulf Cup will come at its time, and this is what I promise you; “There will be hosting and we will announce it at the appropriate time.”
Regarding the possibility of Iraq hosting two successive editions of the Gulf Cup, “Gulf 28” and “Gulf 29,” Al Busaidi explained that the matter is related to the Gulf Federation and the agreements related to hosting. He said: “This matter depends on the brothers in the Gulf Federation according to the agreement, God willing, but according to my knowledge, this period may be exclusive to Iraq, but as for the next edition, I do not know yet.”
Squash may have secured its long-awaited Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but the president of the International Federation of the Sport is keenly aware of the budget and venue pressures, and is not taking participation in the 2032 Brisbane Games in Australia for granted.
While the International Squash Federation is sparing no effort in its quest to maintain its place in the Olympic Games, relying on the increasing global spread of this sport and its sustainability that does not require large investments, its president, Zina Wooldridge, adopts a realistic view of matters.
“It has been a long journey and we have to be patient,” Wooldridge told Reuters during the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. “We don’t know whether we will participate or not.”
She added: “I think that, given that we have been on the verge of joining the Olympic Games for a long time; “We really appreciate the value of our inclusion in the Olympic program.”
She continued: “The organization of the modern Olympic Games is very different these days. In terms of economic constraints, there are big ambitions and aspirations, but the budgets are actually smaller. “In the case of Brisbane, there are fewer stadiums than in Los Angeles.”
Wooldridge said the International Squash Federation had adopted a simple, collaborative model specifically designed to relieve pressure on local organizing committees rather than engaging in negotiations with strict infrastructure demands.
She added: “Our approach is to work with the organizing committees to say: (Look, what is your strategy? What are the challenges you face? And we will work with you to confront these challenges).”
He continued: “We do not come and say: (Look, these are our specifications. You must provide this, this, that, and that).”
Otherwise, the advantage of this sport depends on its ease of transport, its modular character and its ability to integrate into existing or mixed-use spaces without leaving useless projects behind.
“We're kind of like snails, we carry our home with us,” Wooldridge said. We are a small and embeddable game. “We can organize a big event in one stadium and we can share the stadium.”
Football cannot be separated from politics in the modern world, no matter how many may wish otherwise; But whether the beautiful game can alleviate the crises of our time is another matter. After a week in which the issue of Irish support for the people of Gaza turned into a battle of conscience surrounding this match, the outcome of the match in the end seemed less important than everything that came before it.
In the end, the victory was indeed one-sided, but not because of the boycott; Until Saturday evening, the question was whether Heimir Hallgrimsson's team would play the match against Israel in Hungary at all, and if it did participate, would its players be able to overcome everything that happened and focus on the field? But days of discussions and division ended with a state of cohesion within the team, which entered the confrontation strongly and decided it with 3 goals in the first half.
According to the Guardian newspaper, the atmosphere at the Nagerdi Stadium in the city of Debrecen was similar to the matches that were held during the “Covid” pandemic. It was possible to hear every word said inside the stadium in the shadow of the almost empty stands. About 150 Israeli fans attended, compared to about 12 Irish fans who were able to enter the stadium despite the Irish Federation’s decision not to allocate official tickets to its fans.
The pre-match ceremonies added to the strangeness of the scene. Members of the Irish staff turned their backs to the pitch during the playing of the Israeli anthem, while the Irish players, all wearing black armbands, stood with their heads lowered. There was no exchange of commemorative flags, and the two teams did not shake hands before each team headed directly to its own gathering in preparation for the start of the match.
The match was close to being canceled on Saturday, after goalkeeper Gavin Bazuno announced his unwillingness to participate, a decision that led to emotional and lengthy discussions between the players and the technical staff, before the majority of the players voted in favor of playing the match.
The developments forced Hallgrimsson to choose a lineup in which defender Jimmy Dunne became the nominal third goalkeeper, and Finn Azaz was kept on the bench, as part of 5 changes to the team that lost to Kosovo.
Azaz's mother holds Israeli citizenship, and The Guardian reported that he made an emotional intervention during the discussions that took place within the team on Saturday. But Hallgrimsson confirmed after the match that his non-participation in the starting lineup was due to technical reasons, explaining that the technical staff saw that other players were more suitable for this confrontation.
After all the discussions and questions that preceded the match, Ireland needed only 11 minutes in the first half to resolve the confrontation.
Troy Parrott opened the scoring in the 14th minute, after taking advantage of a distinguished work by James Abankwah on the right side, to shoot a low ball that went past goalkeeper Daniel Peretz and landed in the net.
Just two minutes later, Adam Edah doubled the Irish team's lead, after moving behind the last defender and receiving a smart pass from Jack Moylan, before calmly placing the ball to the goalkeeper's left.
In the 25th minute, it was Moylan himself's turn; He advanced the ball towards the penalty area and fired a low shot into the net, scoring his fourth goal in four international matches, continuing his remarkable start with the Irish national team.
But his celebration of the third goal carried a message that goes beyond football; He ran towards the corner flag, took the black armband off his arm and kissed it, in one of the most prominent symbolic scenes of the discussions surrounding the confrontation.
After the match, Hallgrimsson said that what he experienced was probably the most difficult day in his coaching career, but he stressed that it was not related to him, but rather to the players and what they went through during the hours before the match.
He added that his players showed how important representing Ireland was to them, and that they appeared on the field with dignity and strength, expressing his hope that they would gain the support of the Irish people.
The match, which only hours ago was a question of whether it could be held at all, ended with Ireland winning 3-0. But the result was not the only story of the night in Debrecen, after the players entered the field with black armbands, there were no handshakes and the exchange of flags, and heads bowed during the Israeli anthem, before Ireland settled the confrontation with 3 goals and closed on the field a chapter of a week whose events went beyond the limits of football.
