The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, is a regional, intergovernmental, political, and economic union comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The council's main headquarters is located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Charter of the GCC was signed on 25 May 1981, formally establishing the institution.
The United Arab Emirates national football team represents United Arab Emirates in international association football and serves under the auspices of the country's Football Association.
The Bahrain national football team represents Bahrain in international football and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association, which was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so. Bahrain won the FIFA's most improved team award in 2004, and finished fourth in the 2004 Asian Cup, beating Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals but losing to Japan in the semi-finals 4–3. Bahrain then lost to Iran in the third-place match, thus finishing in fourth place overall. Bahrain had a golden year in 2019, winning both the WAFF Championship and the Arabian Gulf Cup for the first time, under the stewardship of Hélio Sousa.
The Qatar national football team represents Qatar in international football, and is controlled by the Qatar Football Association and AFC.
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation is the football governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, its responsibilities include administration of club competitions and national teams. The founder of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation is Prince Abdullah bin Faisal Al-Saud
The Arabian Gulf Cup, often referred to simply as the Gulf Cup, is a biennial football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation for its eight member nations. The history of the competition has also seen it held every three to four years due to political or organisational problems.
The Arabian Gulf rugby union team was a combined team of players that represented the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in international rugby union competitions. The team competed in international matches between 1993 and 2010, and was governed by the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (AGRFU). Associate members were Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.
Asia Rugby, formerly the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU), is the governing body of rugby union in Asia under the authority of World Rugby. Founded in 1968 by eight charter nations, the Union today has 36 member unions in countries across Asia, stretching from Kazakhstan to Guam.
Rugby union in the Arabian Peninsula is a minor, but growing sport. The game is played in six out of seven countries on the peninsula, specifically the Gulf Cooperation states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The region hosts the annual Dubai Sevens and Dubai Women's Sevens tournaments which are global events on the World Rugby sevens series for men and women.
The Peninsula Shield Force is the military arm of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It is intended to deter, and respond to military aggression against any of the GCC member countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Arabian Gulf rugby sevens national team was a minor sevens side that represented the Gulf Cooperation Council member states. The team first played in 1990, competing at the Hong Kong Sevens tournament that year before travelling to the qualifying event for the Rugby World Cup Sevens held in Sicily. Over the next two decades the Arabian Gulf was a regular participant at the Hong Hong Sevens and in their home event, the Dubai Sevens. The Arabian Gulf team was dissolved at the end of 2010 to be replaced by single-country national teams.
Rugby union in Kuwait is a minor but growing sport.
The Dubai Sevens was played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens. The 2010 competition was held on December 3 and December 4 at The Sevens. It was the first of eight events in the 2010–11 IRB Sevens World Series.
Association football is a practiced sport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). UAE has teams and players at both club and international level.
The 23rd Arabian Gulf Cup was the 23rd edition of the biennial football competition for the eight members of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation. It took place in Kuwait from 22 December 2017 until 5 January 2018. Oman won their second title, defeating the United Arab Emirates in the final on penalties following a goalless draw.
The Qatar diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic incident that began on 5 June 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and banned Qatar-registered planes and ships from utilising their airspace and sea routes, along with Saudi Arabia blocking Qatar’s only land crossing. They were later joined by Jordan and were supported by the Maldives, Mauritania, Senegal, Djibouti, the Comoros, and the Tobruk-based government in Libya.
The GCC Games is a regional multi-sport event which involves participants from the Gulf Cooperation Council region. The GCC Games, a quadrennial multi-sport event, was established by the union and first held in 2011. There are numerous long-running GCC Championships for individual sports, including: the Gulf Cooperation Council Athletics Championships sailing, basketball, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, weightlifting, futsal, snooker, and table tennis.
The United Arab Emirates Rugby Federation, or UAE Rugby, is the governing body for rugby union in United Arab Emirates. It organises and oversees local rugby, including the annual Dubai Sevens and Dubai Women's Sevens. It became affiliated to World Rugby and Asia Rugby in 2012 as a full status member.
The Qatar Rugby Federation is the governing body for rugby union in Qatar. It was founded in 2006 and sent teams to the Arabian 7s Challenge Cup in that year. However, it was largely dormant until the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (AGRFU) was dissolved at the end of 2010. The AGRFU had organised local and regional rugby competitions before then across most countries in the Arabian Peninsula, including Qatar, but was split up to allow national federations to take charge in each country.
