It is the first edition of the competition organised by the AGCFF under its new name and format, with clubs from Iraq and Yemen participating for the first time. The last edition of the tournament was held in 2015, when the competition was organised by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).[2]
The draw was held on 23 September 2024. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four, by selecting one team from each of the four ranked pots. For the draw, the clubs were allocated to four pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of their nations as at 19 September 2024.[3]
Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
Goal difference in all group matches;
Goals scored in all group matches;
Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
Updated to match(es) played on 4 February 2025. Source: GSA Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated