This edition brings together officials from across the Gulf and beyond, as part of the Federation's push to build cooperation, share expertise and raise technical standards in refereeing.
- Home >
- Football >
- Gulf Football Federation Referees Committee appoints officials for Khaleeji Arabian Dyar 27
Gulf Football Federation Referees Committee appoints officials for Khaleeji Arabian Dyar 27
The Gulf Football Federation Referees Committee has announced officials appointed for the 27 th Arabian Gulf Cup, the “Khaleeji Arabian Dyar 27,” which will be held in Jeddah from 23 September to 6 October 2026, under the patronage of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Under an agreement between the Gulf Football Federation and the Confederation of African Football, a Moroccan refereeing team is set to join the tournament, along with officials from Jordan, China, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Referees and assistant referees appointed for the tournament are:
• Kuwait: Abdullah Mahmoud Jamali, Ali Taleb Jarraq, Saud Abdulaziz Al Shamali
• Iraq: Zaid Thamer Mohammed, Haider Abdulhussein Ali, Amir Dawood Hussein
• Qatar: Mohammed Ahmed Al Shammari, Khalid Ayed Khalaf, Zahi Sneid Al Shammari
• UAE: Omar Mohammed Al Ali, Mohammed Ahmed Al Hammadi, Jassim Abdullah Al Ali
• Bahrain: Ammar Ibrahim Mahfoodh, Mohammed Jaafar Salman, Abdullah Saleh Al Ruwaimi
• Saudi Arabia: Khalid Saleh Al Turais, Abdulrahim Al Shammari, Saad Al Subaie
• Oman: Qasim Al Hatmi, Nasser Salem Al Busaidi, Hamad Al Ghafri
• Netherlands: Danny Makkelie, Hessel Steegstra, Jan de Vries
• Portugal: João Pinheiro, Pedro Ribeiro, Luciano Maia
• Morocco: Jalal Jayed, Zakaria Brinsi, Mustapha Akarkad
• Jordan: Adham Makhadmeh, Mohammed Al Khalaf, Ahmed Al Rawaili
The Video Assistant Referees are Abdullah Mohammed Arab (Kuwait), Meshari Al Shammari (Qatar), Mohammed Obaid Khadem Mohammed (UAE), Ismail Habib Ismail (Bahrain), Abdullah Dhafer Al Shahri (Saudi Arabia), Erwin Blank (Netherlands), Hamza Al Fariq (Morocco) and Fu Ming (China).
Hani Taleb Ballan, Chairman of the Referees Committee, said that officials are set to arrive in Jeddah on Friday ahead of a four-day technical and physical training camp, which will commence on Saturday.
The camp aims to align the officials on technical standards, work through decision-making scenarios, and strengthen coordination between referees, assistant referees and VAR officials.
Ballan explained the significance of refereeing to the success of Khaleeji Arabian Dyar 27, adding that the Federation is committed to ensuring that officials are fully prepared for the tournament.
He went on to praise the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and the Local Organising Committee for their operational and technical preparations and for supporting the refereeing teams.
Ballan also lauded the support of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Gulf Football Federation, which he said reflects the role refereeing plays in raising standards across the region.
Ballan also thanked Secretary-General Jassim Sultan Al Rumaihi for backing the officials and credited the Federation's committees with raising refereeing standards across its tournaments.
Hosts Saudi Arabia open their campaign against Kuwait on 23 September, coinciding with Saudi National Day, at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, in the opening match of Group A.
Iraq are set to face Oman at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in the group's second fixture.
Khaleeji Arabian Dyar 27 features several anticipated fixtures, most notably Qatar against defending champions Bahrain on 24 September in Group B, and the UAE against Yemen.
