The Gulf Cup Football Federation has announced the details of the draw ceremony for the 27th Gulf Cup (Gulf Cup 27), which will take place on Tuesday, 19 May 2026, ahead of the tournament scheduled to be hosted by Saudi Arabia from 23 September to 6 October 2026.

The draw ceremony will be held at 4:00 p.m. at the Culture Square – Art Center Building of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Historic Jeddah. The event will be attended by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Gulf Cup Football Federation, along with Yasser Al Misehal, officials from the Gulf Cup Federation, representatives of the eight participating national teams, and a number of former Gulf football stars.

All participating football associations have confirmed their attendance at the ceremony, with several national team managers and head coaches also expected to be present.

Preparations in Saudi Arabia have intensified in recent weeks as the Kingdom finalizes arrangements for both the draw ceremony and the tournament itself. Coordination meetings are continuing to ensure all organizational matters are completed ahead of the event.

Meanwhile, Jassim Sultan Al Rumaihi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cup Football Federation, and his accompanying delegation have arrived in Jeddah to oversee the final preparations related to the draw.

Gulf Cup 27 will be staged in Jeddah at two venues: King Abdullah Sports City and Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium. The tournament will be the fifth edition organized under the Gulf Cup Football Federation and will feature eight national teams: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, and Yemen.

According to the tournament regulations, the teams will be divided into four seeding pots based on the latest FIFA World Ranking released on 1 April 2026. Pot 1 includes Qatar, ranked 55th in the world, and Iraq, ranked 57th. Pot 2 contains Saudi Arabia, ranked 61st, and the United Arab Emirates, ranked 68th. Pot 3 features Oman, ranked 79th, and Bahrain, ranked 91st. Pot 4 includes Kuwait, ranked 134th, and Yemen, ranked 149th.

Under the draw format, one team from each pot will be placed into each group, ensuring that teams from the same seeding level do not meet during the group stage.

As host nation, Saudi Arabia will automatically be placed at the top of Group A and will play the tournament’s opening match. The United Arab Emirates, as the corresponding seeded team, will be placed at the top of Group B.

The competition format consists of two groups of four teams. Each team will play the others in its group once, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The winner of Group A will face the runner-up of Group B, while the winner of Group B will meet the runner-up of Group A. The two semi-final winners will then compete in the final to determine the Gulf Cup 27 champion.

On the sidelines of the draw ceremony, several federation committees—including the Competitions Committee, Referees Committee, and Media Committee—will hold meetings to discuss operational matters and finalize work plans for the period leading up to the start of the tournament.