Soccer has played a central role in creating “strong relations” among the citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations ever since the first Gulf Cup took place in Bahrain in 1970, Saudi soccer journalist Atef Nahass told Al-Monitor.
In recent times, the world's most popular sport had been a “unique platform of exchange” throughout a 3½-year spat that positioned Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt opposite Qatar, according to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.