Gulf 5 .. Iraq crowned the title and broke the dominance of Kuwait

With its second participation, Iraq hosted the fifth edition of the Gulf Cup tournaments, from March 23 to April 9, 1979, with the participation of 7 teams, Kuwait led by Brazilian Carlos Alberto Pereira, Iraq led by national coach Ammo Baba, Saudi Arabia led by Englishman David Woodfield, Bahrain led by Irishman Jack Mansell, Oman led by Englishman George Smith, Emirates led by Englishman Don Revie, Qatar led by Sudanese Hassan Othman.

Al-Shaab International Stadium hosted all the matches of the tournament, and the Iraqi national team was able to win the first title in its second consecutive participation, after finishing runner-up in its first appearance.

70 goals were scored in 21 matches in the tournament, and Hussein Saeed won the title of top scorer in the tournament, with ten goals. He also scored the second fastest goal in the history of all Gulf tournaments, thirty seconds after the Iraq-Qatar match.

Iraqi Raad Hammoudi won the award for the best goalkeeper, who almost equaled the number of Ahmed Trabelsi, but he was denied by Mahboub Juma, the Kuwaiti player, after he succeeded in scoring an own goal, and Kuwait finished runner-up for the first time after leading the scene and achieving the title for four consecutive copies, and the Saudi green came third.