Football Diplomacy: Green Falcons Lift Khaleeji 27 Cup

The football team of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, generally known as the Green Falcons, clinched the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup,

The football team of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, generally known as the Green Falcons, clinched the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup, generally known as Khaleeji 27, on October 6.

It was the latest edition of the biennial football championship featuring the eight member nations of the Gulf Football Federation. The Green Falcons secured the championship by defeating the United Arab Emirates 2-0 in the final at King Abdullah Sports City.
At the start of my career, I did a sports magazine at The Nation, and this background may interest football lovers. But football is not just a game; it is a global diplomatic tool. Saudi Arabia won this diplomatic bid when it hosted Khaleeji 27. Its victory in the tournament is an added benefit.

The message that this victory and the tournament give is international. About 70,000 spectators from Gulf countries watched the final match at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah. And a much higher number of Saudi people enjoyed watching it on mega screens installed on roadsides and at their homes.

It gives the message to the world that the Gulf stands together and unfazed in the face of the wars that have been imposed on it. It also gives a message of leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is striving to drive the region towards peace and prosperity.
Saudi diplomats have been in continuous contact with Chinese authorities to remind them of their duty to make sure that Iran honors the Beijing Agreement.

China brokered this deal on March 10, 2023 between Saudi Arabia and Iran aimed at restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries after a seven-year rupture, with plans to reopen embassies.

Despite the conflict, Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its commitment to the agreement’s framework, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stating in September 2026 that the Kingdom was “determined to continue this path and to deepen bilateral relations.”
In addition, on June 30, 2026, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Prince Turki Al Faisal, in his latest interview with Arab News, has explicitly stated that he was engaged in the efforts to ask China to act in this regard.

The growth of football in Saudi Arabia is linked to the rule of the House of Saud. But Vision 2030 of MBS accelerated this growth. Under this vision, the Saudi Pro League began attracting high-profile international talent. Saudi Arabia is slated to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and is the sole bidder expected to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
I remember Saudi Arabia felt a push to pursue football diplomacy vibrantly when Qatar hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2022. One of the greatest shocks in tournament history was the Saudi victory over Argentina.

Tens of thousands of Saudi fans flooded Doha, creating a massive “Green Wave.” They brought incredible energy, drums, and passionate chants that dominated the atmosphere in the stadiums and streets.

A good number of Pakistanis performed multiple duties to make that FIFA World Cup a success. The Pakistanis were very prominent in raising their voice for the defense of Qatar when Israel attacked Doha on September 9, 2025, targeting senior Hamas peace negotiators. But over six months have passed since Qatar declared an unannounced ban on work visas for Pakistanis.

Pakistanis live there in poverty, forced to beg on the street. On the other hand, Indians never stood by Doha against Israel, but even then, they not only outnumber Pakistanis heavily but also hold authority positions. The tragedy is that Qatar is behaving better than other Gulf countries that have deported a good number of Pakistanis in the wake of the Iran war. Qatar, at least has not yet started deportation of Pakistanis.

This is nothing but Pakistan’s diplomatic failure in the Gulf. The ambassadors in the Gulf countries have simply failed to do their job if diplomacy, indeed, is their job in any way. Not only the ambassadors, but government high-ups have also failed Pakistani youth in the Gulf. Who will trust them when responsible government figures themselves catch a young Pakistani at an airport, put him on camera, and tell the media that he was going to Saudi Arabia on a fake driver’s license?

I remember that when MBS came to Islamabad, then Prime Minister Imran Khan drove him to the Prime Minister’s House in 2019 and asked MBS to look into the hardships of Pakistani laborers in the Kingdom and to “look upon them as your own people,” mentioning that many were poor people who had left their families behind.

MBS responded positively on the spot on camera. He assured the Pakistani prime minister that he considered himself an ambassador for Pakistan in Saudi Arabia and stated, “We cannot say no to Pakistan… whatever we can do, we will deliver that.” Following this interaction, the Saudi Crown Prince ordered the immediate release of 2,107 Pakistani prisoners.
The next year, Imran Khan visited Doha, where a big number of Pakistanis welcomed him. A stadium was set aside for this mega welcome. Upon his return, Imran Khan reminded Ambassador Syed Ahsan Raza Shah not to entangle Pakistani workers in unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks and to facilitate them as much as was possible. That was the time of a boom in Pakistani youth going to get work in Doha. That was the success of diplomacy.

But later in 2022 when MBS was set to visit Islamabad on November 21, he postponed that visit and watched the match of his team on a big screen in his palace with family and friends. It was the success of football diplomacy.
And now again in 2026, Saudi Arabia used this football diplomacy to attract the world towards peace in the Gulf region. The purpose of these tournaments in the Gulf is promoting a sense of togetherness and rekindling a hope for a healthy and peaceful future. We bid you well Saudi Arabia.