Gulf Cup for Veteran Players
Regional association football tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gulf Cup for Veteran Players (Arabic: كأس الخليج لقدامى اللاعبين) is an exhibition association football tournament governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation for its eight member nations.[1] The tournament is contested by retired players that have participated in previous Arabian Gulf Cup tournaments.[2] The reigning champions are Iraq, who won the inaugural title in 2025.[3]
Iraq(1st title)
| |
| Organiser(s) | Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2025 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Current champions | Iraq (1st title) |
| Most championships | Iraq (1 title) |
| Website | agcff.com |
 2025 Gulf Cup for Veteran Players | |
History
The tournament was first suggested by Omani journalist Salih Albahri.[4] Rumours about the launch of the tournament began circulating in September 2024, three months before Kuwait was set to host the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup.[5] On 30 January 2025, the AGCFF announced the format and dates for the first tournament to be hosted by Kuwait, and also announced that the tournament would be held biennially in conjunction with the Arabian Gulf Cup tournament, in the same host country.
Format and rules
The tournament follows the same format as the Arabian Gulf Cup, where the eight teams are divided into two groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the semi-final. All players participating in the tournament must be retired or over the age of 40 and must have taken part in at least one previous edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup. Matches consist of two halves of 20 minutes each, with no limits on substitutions. If a match in the knockout stage ends in a draw after 40 minutes, a penalty shoot-out takes place.[6]
Results
| Ed. | Year | Host | Final | Losing semi-finalists | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Champion |
Score |  Runner-up | ||||||||
| 1 | 2025 |  Kuwait |
Iraq |
0–0 (4–3 p) |
 Oman |
 Bahrain and  Qatar | ||||
| 2 | 2027 |  Saudi Arabia |
TBD | TBD | ||||||