Jeddah Brings Us Together

Here in beloved Jeddah, which I adore, whose streets I know by heart, and whose people I cherish, the eyes of the Gulf are turned today toward the Bride of the Red Sea. Here, our national teams and our youth gather for a new football wedding: “Gulf Cup 27.” Jeddah, opening its arms to its Gulf brothers and sisters, hosts the tournament for the first time in the history of the Gulf Cup, in a scene that transcends the boundaries of football and match results. The tournament’s matches will be held in Jeddah from September 23 to October 6, 2026, with the participation of the eight Gulf national teams.

Perhaps the most beautiful message that can reach the world from this tournament, which is dear to the heart of every Kuwaiti, amidst the political circumstances surrounding our region and the world, is a simple yet profound one: Our destiny is one… and our people are one. This is not merely words we utter on a sporting occasion, but a firm reality rooted in our Gulf consciousness, expressed by the Gulf Cup since its very first edition. Yes, we may differ in supporting our national teams; one crowd may rejoice while another grieves, but in the end, we are the children of one region and one neighborhood, bound together by geography, religion, history, customs, language, blood, and a shared destiny. This is the distinctiveness of the Gulf Cup.

Since the first tournament launched in Bahrain in 1970, with four teams—Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar—the story was never just about a ball being kicked on the field. The noblest goal was for the sons of the Gulf to meet, get to know one another, compete, develop themselves, and then return to their homelands with new memories and new friendships. In that inaugural tournament, six matches were played, 19 goals were scored, and Kuwait was crowned champion. Kuwaitis Mohamed Al-Masoud and Jawad Khalif shared the top scorer title with three goals each.

Since that day, the tournament has grown, and with it, the Gulf dream. Generations have succeeded one another, stadiums have changed, football has evolved, and names have emerged that have become part of the Gulf’s memory. Among these names, the legend of Kuwaiti football, Jasim Yaqoub, remains powerfully present. The “Terror” Jasim Yaqoub is still the all-time top scorer of the Gulf Cup with 18 goals, a record that has stood tall in the tournament’s records for decades and remains unbroken.

But for me, the most beautiful statistics of the Gulf Cup are not always those found in the top scorer tables, nor the number of titles each national team has won. The most beautiful number is the number of Gulf hearts that come together. When a young Kuwaiti comes to Jeddah and meets his Saudi, Emirati, Qatari, Bahraini, Omani, Yemeni, and Iraqi brothers; when they sit together, talk, laugh, disagree about football, and agree on love… that in itself is a championship. And truly, that is the great victory.

Yes, we need such gatherings. We need the youth of the Gulf to see one another, not through phone screens or via television channels and satellite stations, but in stadiums, cafes, streets, events, and stands. Therefore, I believe the true victory is for the youth of the Gulf to gather in one place. For knowledge to increase and distances to close. For sporting competition to become bridges of love. For us to cheer for our national teams, but at the end of the match, to shake hands, embrace, and congratulate the winner. This is how the Gulf Cup has taught us, and this is how we want it to remain. This is why the fathers and ancestors established it.

Beloved Jeddah, in my opinion, is the ideal place for this message. Jeddah is truly unique. This city, which has known for centuries the meaning of welcoming visitors, possessing the sea, history, generosity, markets, people, and a beautiful spirit, today welcomes its Gulf brothers and sisters under the slogan “Welcome to the Gulf,” in an edition that carries additional distinctiveness as the first time the tournament is hosted in Jeddah.

From here, and from this window, I would like to propose an idea that I hope will soon become reality, God willing, and a message that I hope will find an echo among all the sons of the one Arab Gulf: We want our journey to the next Gulf Cup, Gulf Cup 28, to be by train. Yes… by train, not by plane or car. We have a Gulf railway project extending from Kuwait, passing through Saudi Arabia and the GCC states, reaching Muscat, with a route length of approximately 2,117 kilometers and an expected passenger train speed of around 220 kilometers per hour.

From here, I address with all love, appreciation, and pride those responsible for building this Gulf train: We want to attend the next tournament by train. Imagine the scene… a Gulf train departing from Kuwait, carrying the fans of the Blue Team, meeting at its stations with the fans of our dear brothers: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. Then, all hearts turn toward the Gulf city hosting the tournament. The journey will not be merely a means of transport. It will be part of the tournament itself. We will see the flags of the Gulf on the train, and hear songs, chants, and folk songs. The youth will exchange conversations, stories, and memories. A Kuwaiti fan will sit next to a Saudi fan, an Emirati next to an Omani, a Qatari next to a Bahraini, a Yemeni next to an Iraqi, and perhaps new friendships will begin before the match even starts.

Indeed, I imagine the train itself could become a moving Gulf carnival; carrying the fans, our culture, our chants, our flags, and our memories. Omani sweets, Kuwaiti Rahesh, Bahraini Halwa Shwayter, Saudi Najdi Klayja, Qatari Khabeesa, Emirati Bathitha, Iraqi Qaimar, and Yemeni Du’ani honey will all mix together. How beautiful it would be for the road to Gulf Cup 28 to be a Gulf story in itself; living its details from the moment of leaving the station, and arriving at the stadium with love having preceded the competition. For the joy to begin at the train station, continue along the way, reach the stadium, and then for the fans to return to their homelands carrying the most beautiful memories, new friendships, and unforgettable stories.

Beloved Jeddah, the Bride of the Red Sea, gathers us today. And the Gulf Cup has gathered us for more than half a century. Perhaps the Gulf train, when completed, will also be a new means to tell us and our children: Our destiny is one, and our people are one.

I imagine that this train, departing from Kuwait, will not stop at the borders of the Gulf, but will in the future be a wider bridge for our brothers and people. That the sons of Iraq come to Kuwait, board the train with their Kuwaiti brothers, and depart with us on a Gulf journey titled with love and brotherhood. And that our brothers from the liberated Yemen, God willing, come via beloved Jizan, meet their Gulf brothers, and then board the Gulf train, making the journey itself an occasion for meeting, getting to know one another, and exchanging memories.

As the late great engineer of the word, the poet Prince Badr bin Abdulmohsen, said in Jeddah:

“Every time I travel to Jeddah, where the heart resides,

The years of poetry return,

The faces of those who have passed from among the companions return,

In the mirrors of the waves, in the paper of the mist.

And every time the urgent news comes of a wedding and an engagement,

We ask: Who is the bride?

They say: Jeddah… Jeddah, O radiance of the suns.”

Thus is Jeddah, the Bride of the Red Sea… a place that gathers those we love, and today it gathers the entire Gulf. How beautiful it is that the words we repeat in the stands become a reality we live in our lives, and that Jeddah, every time, becomes a station of joy, a meeting place for brothers, and an open home for all the people of the Gulf.

From Jeddah, the Bride of the Red Sea, I extend my highest congratulations and best wishes to the elder sister, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its King, government, and people, on the occasion of Saudi National Day. May the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia be well, honored, secure, and safe every year. May you be our people, our extension, and our pride every year. We ask God to protect the Kingdom, its leadership, and its people, to perpetuate the blessing of security, safety, and stability upon it, to protect its land and people from all harm, to grant it victory over all who oppose it, and to perpetuate its honor, glory, and prosperity.

May beloved Jeddah be well every year… and may the Gulf be closer to one another every year.

From Jeddah, we say it from the heart: Our destiny is one, and our people are one.

It lives… it lives…

So let God be the Greatest, O Gulf that embraced us.