"The Blue"... A Historic Giant Begins Its Journey to Regain Pride in "Gulf Cup 27"

Kuwait’s national team is competing in Gulf Cup 27, which will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from September 23 to October 6, driven by numerous motivations and an undeniable historical legacy.

Kuwait remains the most successful team in the history of the Gulf Cup, having won the title 10 times in 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1996, 1998, and 2010, with a significant margin over their closest rivals. Iraq has won the title four times, while Qatar and Saudi Arabia have each claimed it three times.

Kuwait, along with Bahrain and Qatar, are the only national teams to have participated in every edition of the Gulf Cup since the tournament’s inception in Bahrain in 1970.

Kuwait also holds the record for hosting the Gulf Cup the most times, with five editions. They won the title on home soil in 1974 and 1990, but were eliminated in the group stage in 2003 and 2017. In the most recent edition, they were knocked out in the semi-finals by Bahrain, who went on to win the title.

Beyond their Gulf legacy, Kuwait was a formidable football force on the Asian level during the last three decades of the 20th century. They qualified for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, won the Asian Cup on home soil in 1980, were runners-up in the 1976 edition in Iran, finished fourth in the 1996 tournament in the UAE, and also participated in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Kuwait also won two Asian Games silver medals (1982 and 1998) and two bronze medals (1986 and 1994), and finished third in the Arab Cup in 1992 and 1998.

However, Kuwait’s shine has gradually faded since 2010, when they simultaneously held both the Gulf Cup and the West Asian Cup titles. They have since been largely absent from the international scene due to multiple bans imposed by FIFA for government interference, which suspended their participation in international competitions.

This turmoil also prevented Kuwait from qualifying for the 2007 and 2023 Asian Cups, and they were eliminated in the group stage in their last two appearances in 2011 and 2015. The team faced a similar fate in the Gulf Cup, exiting in the group stage in the last four editions prior to hosting Gulf Cup 26.

Under the leadership of Portuguese coach Hélio Sousa, Kuwait hopes to build a new squad in preparation for the 2027 Asian Cup and the quest to qualify for the 2030 World Cup.

Sousa, 57, has a champion’s mindset and knows well how to reach podium finishes at the Arab, Gulf, and continental levels. He previously led Bahrain to win both the Gulf Cup and the West Asian Cup in 2019, and before that, he won the UEFA European Under-19 Championship with Portugal in 2016 and 2018.

Historically, Kuwait has played 115 matches in the Gulf Cup, recording 57 wins, 24 draws, and 34 losses. Their players have scored 200 goals while conceding 115.

Kuwaiti legend Jassem Yaqoub tops the all-time Gulf Cup scoring list with 18 goals. Kuwait also holds the record for the largest victory in Gulf Cup history, defeating Oman 8-0 in the 1978 edition.

Kuwait has prepared for the tournament with a training camp in Doha, the capital of Qatar, where they played two friendly matches against Qatari club Al-Lail and the Yemen national team on September 15 and 18, ahead of their Group A campaign. Kuwait will begin their journey against Saudi Arabia, followed by matches against Iraq and Oman in the second and third rounds.