Withdrawal of the Kuwaiti delegation from the opening ceremony of “Gulf 25” in Iraq

The delegation of Kuwait refused to participate in the opening ceremony of the Gulf Cup “Gulf 25”, which took place today, Friday, in the Iraqi city of Basra for security reasons.

According to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas, citing its sources, the Kuwaiti delegation was the last delegation to arrive at the stadium in Basra, according to the arrangements of the organizing committee, and during the entry of the delegation to the stadium, security was in chaos, and at the opening ceremony, namely in places of VIPs, uninvited persons penetrated.

Sources said that a delegation headed by a representative of the emir and chairman of the Kuwait Olympic Committee, Sheikh Fahd al-Nasser, arrived at the stadium, and the delegation was accompanied by the Minister of Sports of Iraq, Ahmed al-Mubarka.

Sources say that while the delegation was in the VIP building at the stadium, several Iraqi fans broke into the stadium, while the security could not contain the crowd.

Thereafter, the Minister of Sports suggested that the Kuwaiti delegation leave the stadium due to lack of security, and the delegation headed to the airport to return to Kuwait.

Iraq will host the championship for the second time in its history, 44 years after the first, as the capital Baghdad hosted the 1979 championship.

8 teams take part in the tournament: Iraq, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, while the Kuwait team will play in the second group along with Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE.

As for the first group, it includes Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen.

source: alqabas