The Arab Gulf Cup Football Association adopted the list of participating clubs in the third edition of the Gulf Champions League for Clubs for the 2026-2027 season, which will witness the largest participation in the history of the tournament since its launch.
The tournament competitions will kick off on October 13, 2026, and continue until April 30, 2027, with the participation of 12 clubs representing the member national federations, after the association decided to increase the number of teams from 8 to 12.
The increase in the number of clubs came within the framework of developing the tournament and expanding the participation base among the Gulf federations, contributing to raising the competitive level and enhancing the competition's standing at the regional level.
The association adopted the distribution of seats in accordance with the tournament regulations, based on the clubs' results in local league competitions, in addition to the ranking of the national federations in the Asian Football Confederation for the 2026-2027 season.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Iraq each received two seats, while the Sultanate of Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Yemen each received one seat per federation.
The list of participating clubs came as follows:
Saudi Arabia: Al-Ettifaq, Neom.
UAE: Al-Nasr, Ajman.
Qatar: Al-Duhail, Qatar.
Iraq: Erbil, Al-Zawraa.
Sultanate of Oman: Al-Shabab.
Bahrain: Al-Riffa.
Kuwait: Kazma.
Yemen: Shaab Hadramout.
The Arab Gulf Cup Association clarified that the early announcement of the participating clubs comes to give the teams and national federations sufficient time to complete their technical and organizational preparations before the start of the tournament.
The association also set September 9 as the date for holding the draw ceremony for the third edition of the Gulf Champions League.
It is noted that Iraqi Duhok won the title of the first edition of the tournament, while Qatari Al-Rayyan won the title of the second edition.
