Kuwait to host next Gulf Cup football tournament in December 2024

Kuwait will host the next Gulf Cup football tournament, which will take place in December 2024, the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) announced.

The decision to make Kuwait the tournament's next host came at a meeting of representatives of Gulf Cup participating nations on Sunday.

"The President of the Gulf Cup Federation confirmed that the next tournament will be in Kuwait in December 2024," read a statement on the AGCFF website on the decision.

Sunday's meeting took place in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where the 24th Gulf Cup is currently taking place.

The tournament is usually held once every two years with Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen all competing for the trophy.

In 2021, tournament organisers announced that the 24th Gulf Cup would be delayed a month because of the World Cup, which took place in November and December in Qatar.

Blighted by decades of dictatorship, war, and insecurity, Iraq is hosting the Gulf Cup for the first time since 1979. The games have been widely celebrated in Iraq, particularly in the south, after decades of bloodshed or sanctions on the country.

The tournament's semi-finals get underway on Monday, with the host nation facing Qatar while Bahrain take on Oman.

The victors will vie for the title in the final on Thursday.