KUWAIT: As the Arabian Gulf enters the final countdown towards what promises to be a memorable Khaleeji Zain 26 in Kuwait, football fans are anticipating one of the most open and hotly contested tournaments in its prestigious 54-year history. After 25 glorious tournaments since its inauguration in 1970, the eight national teams of hosts Kuwait and reigning champions Iraq, along with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen, and Oman, are all expecting to make an impact from December 21-January 3.

Hosts Kuwait have won the tournament an incredible 10 times but have not lifted the coveted trophy since 1990, a statistic they will be hoping to put right when the 26th chapter gets underway at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in three weeks. Formerly known as the Arabian Gulf Cup, it was renamed the Khaleeji Zain 26 following a sponsorship agreement signed with the leading technology and digital lifestyle company Zain prior to the 25th edition held in Basra two years ago.

The first tournament featured four teams—Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the eventual champions, Kuwait—and, as the event is organized every two years, four more teams were added over the decades, with the UAE in 1972, Oman in 1974, Iraq in 1976, and, finally, Yemen in 2003. Only Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar have featured at every edition of the tournament since inception, with the trio making their 26th appearances in Kuwait from December 21 to January 3.

The tournament’s format has evolved to its current two-group/semi-final format. Early editions were held as a league, with everyone playing each other, but as more countries signed up, it moved towards the current format, with the top two from the group stage playing in the semi-finals and the winners going through to the final on January 3 at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium. The host country (Kuwait) always joins Group A, with the reigning champions (Iraq) going into Group B.

While Kuwait’s 10 titles place them well ahead as the most successful nation, Iraq has won it on four occasions, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar have won it three times each. The UAE and Oman have won it twice; Bahrain has one trophy to their name, while Yemen is aiming to make it out of the group stage for the first time in Kuwait this year. Kuwait have hosted the Khaleeji Zain on four previous occasions, the last time coming in 2017/18, and they have won it twice as hosts in 1974 and 1990, the last time they lifted the trophy.

The tournament is organized by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) in coordination with the host nation, with a total of 15 matches to be held across the impressive 60,000-capacity Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium and the 15,000-capacity Jaber Al-Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Stadium. Some of the best Arab players of all time have featured at the tournament, with the all-time top scorer being Kuwait’s legend Jasem Yaqoub who has scored 18 goals, closely followed by Saudi Arabia’s Majed Abdullah and Iraq’s Hussein Saeed, who have scored 17 goals each. Saeed scored an incredible 10 goals at the 1979 tournament, the most by a Golden Boot winner.