FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN and Saudi Arabia played to a goalless draw last night in their opening match of the Gulf Cup for Veteran Players 2025, which kicked off in Kuwait.
The Bahrainis and Saudis are in Group B of the competition’s preliminary round alongside Iraq and Yemen. Group A is composed of hosts Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman.
Bahrain head coach Khalil Al Shuwair fielded a starting 11 that included Ali Hassan in goal, with Ali Aamer, Ghazi Al Kuwari, Hamad Rakea, Rashed Al Dosari, Saleh Abdulhameed, Mohammed Abdulla, Hussain Ali, Mahmood Abdulrahman, Mohammed Hubail, and skipper Talal Yusuf.
The nationals’ best chance came from Ali early in the second half, when he outmuscled his Saudi defender to have a one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper, but his shot was saved.
The tournament is for players aged 40 years old and above. Matches are played over 40 minutes with two 20-minute halves. The number of substitutions per game is open, and VAR technology is not being used.
Bahrainis return to the pitch tonight when they take on Iraq 9.15pm. They then face off with Yemen tomorrow at 4.45pm. Both times are Bahrain.
At the end of the single round-robin, the top two from each group move on to the semi-finals, which are scheduled for Tuesday. The final is then set to take place the following night on the competition’s concluding day.
The eight competing teams are vying for the cool $200,000 in prize money to be awarded to the champions, while the runners-up will take home $150,000.
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