The Organizing Committee of the Ninth Edition of the GCC Sports Tournament for Universities and Higher Education Institutes, headed by Dr. Maryam Bint Hamad Al-Mannai, Vice President of Student Affairs at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and Committee President of the Tournament, announced that 22 universities and educational institutes from across the GCC have confirmed their participation. The tournament is scheduled to be held from February 4 – 10, 2023. 

During the first registration phase, from October 20 to November 1, allocated for early registration, the organizing committee received applications through online application forms and priority was given to universities that expressed their interest in participating. 
 
Three universities from Qatar confirmed their participation including HBKU, the tournament host, Qatar University (QU), and the University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST). Across the region, the United Arab Emirates University will take part; 13 universities from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia registered, including King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals; the Islamic University of Madinah; Taif University; Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University; Taibah University; King Khalid University; King Abdulaziz University; King Faisal University; Qassim University; Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University; Jouf University; Jeddah University, Majmaah University and Saudi Electronic University. From Kuwait, Kuwait University and The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training confirmed their participation, as well as Oman’s Sultan Qaboos University and the University of Technology and Applied Sciences. 
 
Registration of universities in each game has been executed according to the interests of the participating entities. 12 universities registered to compete in padel and volleyball; 13 for  football;  14 in swimming and table tennis and 18 universities will compete in athletics (track running). 
 
The second phase of registration started on November 1 and will run until November 21. At this stage, the names of participants for each sport will be registered in addition to the accompanying delegations, limited to 50 persons per delegation in total. 
 
In football, the number of players allowed per team will be a minimum of nine and a maximum of 18 players, in addition to a coach. In table tennis, between six and 12 are permitted, in addition to a coach. For swimming and athletics, there will be a minimum of four and a maximum of 16 participants, in addition to a coach. In padel and table tennis, between three and five players are allowed, in addition to a coach. The administrative delegation should include up to two administrators, in addition to a delegation head. 
 
Commenting on the registration process, Dr. Al-Mannai said: “We are pleased with the great turnout of universities and higher educational institutes in the GCC countries to take part in the ninth edition of the tournament. A record number of 22 universities and institutes registered. This indicates that the coming edition will be technically exceptional by all accounts. Those entities will compete in six games including padel, swimming, volleyball, table tennis, football, and athletics.”
 
Dr. Al-Mannai added: “We hope that everyone will enjoy a special atmosphere. We will strive to organize the tournament in the best manner. This huge gathering of young people in the GCC region is one of the biggest gains that might be achieved by Qatar and HBKU from hosting this tournament.”