Dubai Bahrain will replace Iraq as host of the 2013 Gulf Cup, the kingdom's sports officials said on Wednesday, a decision that Iraqis say was politically motivated.
The general secretary of Bahrain's Olympic Committee, Shaikh Ahmad Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, said that the decision to move the tournament to Bahrain was made by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC.)
Shaikh Ahmad did not give the reason for the decision for the swap.
"When the decision came to us, we said we are ready," he said. "It will be the fourth Gulf tournament for Bahrain so for us it has become a regular exercise."
‘Unfair'
The 2013 Gulf Cup was originally awarded to Basra, Iraq's second largest city, but Bahrain's state-run media said Basra's stadium and hotel construction were given a poor review by the GCC football committee.
Iraqi sports officials were angered and disappointed by the decision.
"The decision to give the Gulf Cup to Bahrain instead of Basra was unfair and unjust," said Munis Abdullah, a senior member of the Iraqi Olympic Committee in Baghdad.
