Abu Dhabi: The hosts UAE will face Bahrain in the opening match of basketball competition during the 18th Gulf Cup in January.
The draw was held in Dubai on Thursday, attended by Ebrahim Abdul Malek, the Secretary General of the GAYSW, Salem Obaid Al Shamsi, the Chairman of UAE Handball Association, Mohammad Jalfar, the Chairman of the UAE Volleyball Association, Ali Mohammad Ali, the Vice Chairman of the UAE Basketball Association and representatives of the participating teams. The competitions in basketball, volleyball and handball will be held alongside the main football competition during the Gulf Cup which the UAE will host from January 17 next year in Abu Dhabi.
The volleyball competition will be held in Al Jazira club in Abu Dhabi, the basketball in Dubai and the handball in Al Ain. The UAE will face Bahrain on January 18 in the opening match of the basketball tournament.
They will play Oman in the volleyball contest on January 22 and open their campaign in handball against Saudi Arabia on January 19.
The three additional sports were introduced in Qatar two years ago as a rehearsal for the Asian Games. The organisers of the Gulf Cup opted for them to continue because of the benefits to the participating teams.
Participation in these competitions is optional, for GCC countries only as Yemen and Iraq, who take part in the football competition are not yet eligible for the accompanying tournaments.
Abdul Malek said that they will organise the three competitions in different cities in order to attract the most possible number of fans to watch and support the teams which will help in achieving success to the event.
