2007 Arabian Gulf Cup reaches Semi-Finals stage

The semi-finalists for the 2007 Arabian Gulf Cup have been decided. Bahrain will play Oman in the first semi-final, while three-time Gulf champions Saudi Arabia will take on the United Arab Emirates in the other semi, both to be played on 27 January.

Iraq national coach Akram Salman sufffered stinging criticism after his team lost its crucial match to Saudi Arabia by a single goal to miss the semi-finals. "He applied defensive tactics because he wanted to draw with Saudi Arabia, knowing that one point would have been enough for Iraq to reach the semifinals. He squandered the efforts of the players, the fans and the Iraqi FA, who provided all facilities for the team to prepare for this tournament," Abdul Khalig Masaood, an administrator with the Iraq team, told Yasir Abbasher of Gulf News.

Board members of the Kuwaiti football Association are resigning following the nine-time holder's early elimination from the 18th edition of the Gulf Cup. The first, Sahaw al Sahaw, told Kuwait News Agency his resgnation would give an opportunity for others to "bring up the Kuwaiti football." The second, Salah Al-Hasawi, resigned for similar reasons.

Through Beecell, a Jordanian mobile value added services solution provider, Dubai TV Sports Channel has been providing football fans across the Middle East with full coverage of the Gulf Cup via text messages, multimedia messages, Wireless Application Protocol and Mobile Video Streaming. Made available to over 30 million GSM mobile users by 20 GSM operators, the service provides match schedules and results, statistics, team standings, tournament news, and live broadcasts of the event.