IMG is a commercial partner for the Arabian Gulf Football Cup in a long-term deal
The Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation has announced a long-term partnership with IMG as a commercial partner for the next six Gulf Cup tournaments to be held from 2023 to 2031.
IMG will strengthen its presence in the region, and will employ its full services, including media rights marketing, all areas of commercial sponsorship and hospitality sales to the Federation, and IMG will work to ensure the highest standards of production coverage for the eight-team tournament that takes place every two years. Media rights across all platforms, and will include tournament rights sponsorship sales.
Two editions of the championship will be held in 2023, a Gulf 25 edition in January and a Gulf 26 edition at the end of the same year, followed by four tournaments in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031.
The Gulf Cup will be held between the teams of the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Republic of Iraq and the Republic of Yemen.
His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation, said: “In the Federation, we appreciate this partnership with IMG, and we hope that it will have an effective and significant role in marketing and spreading tournaments with high standards and raising the value of the tournament, especially that the Gulf Championship receives attention. This partnership will enhance the Arab Gulf Cup and its development, especially as it attracts football fans because of the privacy it represents for the people of the Arabian Gulf, and will push the championship forward, as it will participate in the qualitative shift that all Federation competitions will witness in the future.”
Adam Kelly, CEO of IMG, said: “This is a very important partnership for IMG and we look forward to working alongside the Federation to maximize the commercial potential of the Arabian Gulf Cup. We believe our investment in the tournament will transform this prestigious event.”
He added, “We will bring a dedicated team of experienced executives to the region and plan to significantly expand our presence on the ground. Combined with our existing relationships with our long-term broadcasting partners in the region and the international experience of IMG Network, this competition will further grow and enhance.”
The tournament consists of two groups of four teams each, with the leaders of each group qualifying for the semi-finals, and then the two winning teams facing each other in the final. It is noteworthy that the Bahrain national team won the title of the 24th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup, which was hosted by the Qatari capital, Doha, in 2019.