MANAMA — Tickets for next month's 21st Gulf Cup football championship, set to take place in Bahrain from Jan. 5-18, will go on sale soon on the tournament's official website www.gulfcup21.bh. With less than a month to go for the kick-off, football fans all over the Gulf region will have the chance to purchase tickets online. The tickets' sale date and fees, however, are yet to be confirmed. This was announced following a meeting of the sub-committees' heads Friday. Tournament Director Ahmed Al-Nuaimi said the decision to allow online sale of the tickets will help the region's football fans plan their trip to Bahrain. He said tickets could still be purchased at the Bahrain Football Association's office. Eight teams are taking part in the tournament. They have been divided into two groups. Group A, according to the tournament website, comprises Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Emirates, while Group B consists of Kuwait, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The Tournament Director for Technical Affairs, Mirza Ahmed, said they have received the lineups from all the participating countries and are being organized to prepare for any required visiting visas. The training sessions' schedule and venues for the GCC teams have also been finalized and sent to all the federations concerned. The teams' training sessions commence on Jan. 3 and continue till Jan. 11. The committee will also issue another training schedule for the teams reaching the semifinals and the final at a later date. A hi-tech scoreboard has, meanwhile, been installed at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium, which will host some of the Gulf Cup matches. The electronic board, which uses Italian technology ‘Techno Vision', uses LED system to deliver high definition video quality. The scoreboard is the same as the one available at the Italian Serie A club AC Milan's stadium. — SG
