21st Arabian Gulf Cup

21st Arabian Gulf Cup

كأس الخلیج العربي 2013، خليجي 21
Tournament details
Host country	Bahrain
Dates	5–18 January
Teams	8
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	United Arab Emirates (2nd title)
Runners-up	Iraq
Third place	Kuwait
Fourth place	Bahrain
Tournament statistics
Matches played	16
Goals scored	36 (2.25 per match)
Attendance	319,000 (19,938 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Abdulhadi Khamis Ahmed Khalil (3 goals)
Best player(s)	Omar Abdulrahman
Best goalkeeper	Noor Sabri
Fair play award	Iraq
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The 21st Arabian Gulf Cup (Arabic: كأس الخليج العربي) was the twenty-first edition of the biennial football competition. It took place in Bahrain in January 2013. The competition was originally scheduled to be hosted in the city of Basra, Iraq, but was moved to Bahrain in October 2011 to ensure that Iraq could suitably host the competition in the 22nd edition.^[1]

The eight participating teams were divided into two groups, Bahrain (the host nation) were placed in Group A, Kuwait (the holder) in Group B, while the rest of the teams were placed in a pot based on FIFA rankings. The draw was held in Bahrain on 18 October 2012.^[2]

Pot	National Team	FIFA Ranking
A	Bahrain (hosts)	115
	Kuwait (holders)	112
B	Iraq	80
	Oman	95
C	Qatar	101
	Saudi Arabia	113
D	United Arab Emirates	116
	Yemen	157

Riffa	Isa Town
Bahrain National Stadium	Khalifa Sports City Stadium
Capacity: 35,000	Capacity: 20,000

The opening ceremony of the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup took place in the Bahrain National Stadium on 5 January. The event featured the attendance of Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain, members of the ruling family, Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, Michel Platini, the president of UEFA as well as other officials.^[3] Blatter commended the ceremony, stating that "The opening ceremony was very nice: 9.5 out of 10 because perfection does not exist".^[4] Following the ceremony, Blatter also stated that the organisational level of the Gulf Cup would have to be improved if it was to be a FIFA-sanctioned event and wanted the cup to be played simultaneously with the Africa Cup of Nations.^[4]

All times are local time (UTC+03:00).

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
United Arab Emirates	3	3	0	0	7	2	+5	9
Bahrain	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
Qatar	3	1	0	2	3	5	−2	3
Oman	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1

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Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Iraq	3	3	0	0	5	0	+5	9
Kuwait	3	2	0	1	3	1	+2	6
Saudi Arabia	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	3
Yemen	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0

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	Semi-finals				Final
	15 January – Riffa
	United Arab Emirates	1
					18 January – Riffa
	Kuwait	0
					United Arab Emirates (a.e.t.)	2
	15 January – Riffa
					Iraq	1
	Iraq	1 (4)
	Bahrain	1 (2)
					Third place
					18 January – Isa Town
					Kuwait	6
					Bahrain	1

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21st Arabian Gulf Cup winners
United Arab Emirates Second title

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

• Osama Hawsawi (playing against Iraq)

This table shows all team performance.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Final phase
1	United Arab Emirates	5	5	0	0	10	3	+7
2	Iraq	5	3	1	1	7	3	+4
3	Kuwait	5	3	0	2	9	3	+6
4	Bahrain	5	1	2	2	4	9	−5
Eliminated in the group stage
5	Saudi Arabia	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1
6	Qatar	3	1	0	2	3	5	−2
7	Oman	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3
8	Yemen	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6

The football associations were given prize money for a fourth place and above finish in the competition in riyals.^[5]

• First Place: 2,000,000 Riyals
• Second Place: 1,500,000 Riyals
• Third Place: 500,000 Riyals
• Fourth Place: 250,000 Riyals

The following awards were given:^[5]

Award	Player	Prize money
Fair Play Award	Iraq	200,000 Riyals
Top Scorer	Abdulhadi Khamis Ahmad Khalil	100,000 Riyals
Most Valuable player	Omar Abdulrahman	100,000 Riyals
Best Goalkeeper	Noor Sabri	100,000 Riyals

• Official Site
• Gulf Cup website