Sells Goalkeeper Products Expand into the Gulf

Not that many people have heard of the Gulf Cup of Nations. Well, not in the English speaking world it seems anyway.

But the Gulf Cup is now underway Oman are the hosts of the 19th Gulf Cup, as (ahem, according to Wikipedia) 8 of the Arab countries from around the Persian Gulf compete for the trophy currently held by the United Arab Emirates.

The Nations competing are as follows: Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Yemen. Nation to have won the cup the most times: Kuwait (9 times). Current holders: United Arab Emirates (after a 1-0 win over Oman in 2007). Er, we can string a few more out but that’s about the best of them…

So why are we bothering you with this under-informed introduction? Well, in spite of our and the generally widespread ignorance about the Gulf Cup, it seems that Sells Goalkeeper Products may have caught others napping, with Sells now gaining so much popularity in the region that 4 goalkeepers of the 8 competing nations will be turning out in January’s tournament in Sells goalkeeper gloves.

Here’s the Sells goalkeeper line up – with goalkeeper glove choice:

Ali Al Habsi / Oman & Bolton Wanderers / Sells Wrap Aqus
Mabrouk Zaid / Saudi Arabia / Sells Wrap Aqua Guard
Majid Nasser / United Arab Emirates / Sells Wrap Aqua
Mohammed S / Qatar / Sells Wrap Aqua

Some people will be surprised to see Bolton’s Ali Al Habsi on that list. Al Habsi has worn Sells gloves in his last 4 internationals, but does not wear them in the English Premier League. It is reported that Sells hope to have him on board in future, alongside their other top keepers wearing Sells in the EPL.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, each of the Sells keepers has opted for the “classic” Sells Adhesion Ultra Aqua glove, with the exception of Saudi Arabia’s Mabrouk Zaid, who wears the Sells Wrap Aqua Guard. Zaid has big gloves to fill – Saudi Arabia already has considerable goalkeeping pedigree, in addition to the newfound esteem of having its keeper in Sells gloves. Mohamed Al-Deayea, who played for Saudi Arabia until 2006 (and who was reportedly almost signed by Manchester United to replace Fabien Barthez in 2001), holds the record for the most capped international player ever – at 181 caps to date.