Dubai Sports Channel, affiliated with Dubai Media, announced the completion of preparations to about 9 years, reflecting its importance, history and contribution to enriching the local and Gulf sports movement. This coverage comes within the framework of Dubai Media’s keenness to follow all sporting events and activities taking place in the UAE and the GCC region, and its commitment to providing comprehensive media coverage of many other international sports matches and championships.
The tournament, which will start on October 23, will be held according to the group system, where the teams will be divided into two groups, each group containing four teams. Two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, where the first team in the first group will face the second team in the second group, while the first team in the second group will meet the second team in the first group.
This system reflects strong competition between Gulf clubs to reach the final match, scheduled to be held on April 25, 2025.
The competitions will witness the participation of Al-Nasr Club from the UAE, Al-Arabi Club from Qatar, Al-Riffa Club from Bahrain, Al-Qadisiyah Club from Kuwait, Al-Ettifaq Club from Saudi Arabia, Al-Ahly Club from Yemen, Dhofar Club from Oman, and Dohuk Club from Iraq.
Abdul Rahman Amin, Director of Sports Channels at Dubai Media, pointed out that the tournament represents a Gulf football celebration awaited by the people of the region, and reflects the remarkable development of Gulf football.
“The Gulf Clubs Football Championship has an important place in the hearts of football fans and the people of the Arabian Gulf region in general, which has given it the ability to return to the forefront again despite its hiatus of about 9 years, as it has contributed throughout its history to the establishment and rehabilitation of sports facilities and strong infrastructure for Gulf football, which encouraged the International and Asian Football Federations to hold their championships in the Gulf region. The championship has also established a distinctive sports culture in our region, and raised the level of awareness of various organizational, media and other aspects, and created highly qualified Gulf cadres,” he said.
He stressed that Dubai Media’s interest in broadcasting the events of this tournament stems from its importance and status with the public.
He added: “Dubai Media is keen to harness its logistical and technical capabilities and provide comprehensive coverage of the competitions through its sports channels, so that it reflects the tournament’s impact on the scene, in addition to providing a pioneering viewing experience for local, regional and international audiences.”
In turn, Hassan Habib, Director of Dubai Sports Channel , pointed out the interest of Dubai Media, through its coverage of the tournament, in providing comprehensive and diverse coverage of all the details of the Gulf Clubs Football Cup competitions.
He said: “The tournament still has a remarkable presence on the scene despite its suspension for years, due to its contribution to presenting many football stars, qualifying Gulf teams and enabling them to participate in many international and regional tournaments, in addition to its role in enhancing the exchange of expertise in all sports fields.”
He pointed out that Dubai Sports Channel has prepared a comprehensive agenda that includes a group of programmes and coverage to follow the important sporting event, through which various analyses of the tournament’s events will be presented, in addition to hosting a group of analysts, athletes and experts in the sports sector, to talk about the tournament, its importance, position and impact on the arena.
As part of its preparations, Dubai Sports will keep up with the sporting event through a group of private studios that will be set up in the stadiums hosting the tournament matches, with the aim of conveying the atmosphere of the tournament and following its competitions, and monitoring the most prominent reactions and statements of coaches and players after the matches end. A network of Dubai Sports correspondents who are present in the stadiums to monitor the events of the matches and transmit them to the followers and viewers of Dubai Media channels will broadcast them live. The channel will also show a series of programs related to the tournament, which will host a group of analysts, experts, and administrative and technical staff of the participating teams, with the aim of shedding light on the players’ performance levels and their strengths and weaknesses in the matches, in addition to broadcasting a group of news messages and field reports that review the clubs’ preparations for the tournament competitions, and cover their training camps, the nutrition methods they follow, and the players’ recovery processes, among others.
It is noteworthy that the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation had revealed an increase in the total financial prizes for the “Gulf Clubs Football Championship”, as incentives and prizes were allocated to the participating teams. The first-place winner (champion) will receive a financial prize of three million dollars, while the prize for the second-place team amounted to one million dollars.
Individual prizes have been allocated for the participating players, as the best player in the tournament will receive a prize of $50,000, the best goalkeeper will receive a prize of $50,000, in addition to the tournament’s top scorer who will also receive a prize of $50,000. The Federation has also allocated a financial contribution to the participating clubs, amounting to $300,000 for each participating club in the tournament, in addition to a reward for qualifying for the semi-finals by granting each participating club a financial sum of $100,000. Each participating club will be granted a financial sum of $30,000 for each match it plays away from home, in addition to a reward for winning the match, which is worth $30,000 for each match it wins.
