Gulf Cup General Assembly Endorses Saudi Arabia as Host of Gulf Cup 27

The decision was reached through a unanimous vote by the General Assembly members during a meeting held in Kuwait City - SPA
The decision was reached through a unanimous vote by the General Assembly members during a meeting held in Kuwait City - SPA
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Gulf Cup General Assembly Endorses Saudi Arabia as Host of Gulf Cup 27

The decision was reached through a unanimous vote by the General Assembly members during a meeting held in Kuwait City - SPA
The decision was reached through a unanimous vote by the General Assembly members during a meeting held in Kuwait City - SPA

The General Assembly of the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation has unanimously approved Saudi Arabia as the host for the 27th Gulf Cup, slated for September 2026.
The decision was reached through a unanimous vote by the General Assembly members during a meeting held in Kuwait City.

The President of the Saudi Football Federation, Yasser Al-Misehal, Secretary-General Ibrahim Al-Qasim, and board member Muidh Al-Shehri attended the meeting, SPA reported.
Al-Misehal expressed his profound gratitude and appreciation to the Kingdom’s leadership for the generous and unwavering support for the sports sector in general and football in particular. This support, he said, has culminated in Saudi Arabia being chosen to host the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup.
He also acknowledged the efforts of the Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, who continuously attended to and followed up to ensure all resources were mobilized to host major sporting events in the Kingdom.



PSG Coach Faces Crucial Month in Fight for Champions League Survival

Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
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PSG Coach Faces Crucial Month in Fight for Champions League Survival

Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Players of PSG celebrate their 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

January could be a crucial month in determining Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique's future at the club.
While runaway league leader PSG is unbeaten in domestic competition heading into Sunday's Trophée des Champions (the French super cup) against Monaco, it is a far different story in the Champions League.
Three defeats in the new-look group format have left PSG in a perilous position, and the ambitious Qatari-backed club faces the threat of elimination.
With only two games remaining PSG is in a dismal 25th place out of 36 teams, with the bottom 12 all going out.
PSG next faces 2023 champion Manchester City at home on Jan. 22 before traveling to play German club Stuttgart the following week.
Those would already be tough games, but they are made even more difficult given the fact that City and Stuttgart are similarly in danger and need victories. City is one point ahead of PSG with eight points and Stuttgart is level on seven.
Stuttgart's penultimate game is against Slovan Bratislava — which has lost all six matches so far and conceded 21 goals — and so victory there would put it ahead of PSG going into the final round, if Enrique's side fails to beat City.
City is struggling to defend its Premier League title and European success could prove coach Pep Guardiola's salvation, so the PSG game is massive for the club.
Defeat may prove costly for Enrique, who is PSG's eighth manager since Qatari investors QSI bought the club in 2011. In that time, Carlo Ancelotti is the only coach not to be sacked, leaving for Real Madrid in 2013.
The hire-and-fire approach is unlikely to spare Enrique if he suffers the crushing humiliation of being knocked out of the new giant group-stage format of the Champions League — where eight sides qualify directly and 16 reach the knockout phase playoffs.
Modest Lille and tournament newcomers Brest are both in the top eight while 2004 runner-up Monaco is 16th, leaving PSG last among the French clubs.
Whatever PSG achieves in France — with the Ligue 1 and French Cup double a possibility — Enrique will be judged on what happens in Europe's elite competition.