2010 Gulf Cup of Nations
The 20th Gulf Cup was held from November 22 to December 5, 2010 in the Yemeni port of Aden instead. Winner of the football tournament Kuwait was a 1-0 final win against Saudi Arabia. For Kuwait, it was the tenth title in the competition.
Organizer
Yemen takes part in the Gulf Cup since 2003. It is the only participating country, which is not a state bordering the Persian Gulf. In January 2007, the country was determined to host the 20th edition of the tournament. The tournament budget amounted to 300 million U.S. dollars.
Prior to the event, there were concerns about the organization of the tournament in Yemen, the main point of criticism was the fragile security situation in the country, which often target of attacks has been lately. Three days after the draw for the group stage called a separatist group in the south to the Gulf States to boycott the tournament. On 23 October 2010 Yemeni security forces were able to thwart a bombing strike in Aden. The Yemeni government said ihereseits that it would deploy 30,000 troops to protect the event.
Participant
At the finals the following eight teams participated:
- Bahrain Bahrain
- Iraq Iraq
- Qatar Qatar
- Kuwait Kuwait
- Oman Oman (as defending champions )
- Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates V.A.E.
- Yemen Yemen ( as host )
Mode
The eight teams were divided into two groups of four teams. The two group winners and runners- qualified for the next round. It was then played in the knockout system.
Draw
The draw took place on August 22, 2010.