KUWAIT: The Kuwait national football team enters the Arabian Gulf Cup (Khaleeji Zain 26) with a track record that made it the dominant record holder in the tournament’s history, with 10 titles. The tournament, hosted by Kuwait from December 21, 2024, to January 3, 2025, presents an opportunity for the Kuwaiti team to reclaim the championship they last won during the 20th Gulf Cup in Yemen in 2010, where they won against Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final.

Kuwait’s dominance of the tournament began with the inaugural Gulf Cup in Bahrain in 1970, where they emerged victorious, securing four consecutive titles by 1976 - a record unmatched by any other Gulf nation. Kuwait won the 6th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 14th, and 20th editions of the tournament, and Kuwaiti football legend Jassem Yaqoub remains the Gulf Cup’s all-time top scorer with 18 goals. The Gulf Cup, held once every two years, initially featured only four nations-Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, and was expanded to include Oman, UAE and Iraq, and Yemen, now eight competing teams.

The first edition of the tournament was held in Bahrain 1970 with the participation of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and its first title was won by Kuwait. In 1972, the second edition was held in Saudi Arabia with the participation of five teams after the UAE joined, and Kuwait won the championship title on goal difference, Kuwait has scored 12 goals compared to 8 for Saudi Arabia.

The number of teams reached six after Oman joined the third edition in 1974, which was hosted by Kuwait for the first time, in which Kuwait won the championship for the third time in a row. In the next edition, the Iraqi national team joined, bringing the number of participating teams to seven teams, and Kuwait won their fourth consecutive trophy in the 1976 edition in Qatar. Kuwait won the title after a playoff match for the first time in the tournament with Iraq, which ended with a victory (4-2), after drawing (2-2) in their first match and equalizing them with ten points each.

Kuwait also won the tournament for the fifth time in the sixth edition held in the UAE in 1982, during which they succeeded in defeating Bahrain (2-0), the UAE (2-0), Saudi Arabia (1-0) and Oman (2-0) and lost against Qatar (1-2). Kuwait’s Saleh Zakaria was the first Gulf coach to lead his country to the title in the eighth edition hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1986, and the Kuwaiti team won the podium for the sixth time after achieving five wins and a single draw with Bahrain (1-1).

In Kuwaiti for the second time, under Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari in the 10th edition in 1990 and with the participation of the seven countries, the Kuwaiti team won the title for the seventh time without receiving any loss. In the 13th edition in Oman in 1996 with the participation of six teams, the Kuwaiti team won the title for the eighth time after defeating Bahrain (1-0), Oman (2-1), Saudi Arabia (1-0) and Qatar (2-1) and suffered a single loss to the UAE (1-2).

The Kuwait national team won the title for the ninth time in its history in the 14th edition in the Bahrain in 1998 under the leadership of Czech coach Milan Machala and striker Jassim Al-Huwaidi was crowned as the top scorer for this edition with nine goals. In 2010, in the 20th edition hosted by Yemen, it was the last time that Kuwait won the tournament after winning against Saudi Arabia in the final match with a clean goal scored by Waleed Juma.

In the 10th edition of the tournament, the Kuwaiti national team also dominated many awards, including Bader Al-Mutawa winning the title of top scorer of the tournament with three goals, Fahad Al-Enezi as the best player and Nawaf Al-Khalidi as the best goalkeeper. The Kuwaiti team remains a symbol of excellence in Gulf football, embodying a rich legacy and the hope of rekindling its golden era, and the Gulf Cup remains a celebrated event, fostering unity and fierce competition across the Gulf region. — KUNA