Qatar–United Arab Emirates football rivalry

Qatar–United Arab Emirates football rivalry
Other namesBlockade Derby
Gulf Derby
LocationAFC
WAFF
Teams Qatar
 United Arab Emirates
First meetingUnited Arab Emirates 1–0 Qatar
2nd Arabian Gulf Cup
Riyadh
(17 March 1972)
Latest meetingQatar 2–1 United Arab Emirates
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
Al Rayyan
(14 October 2025)
Statistics
Meetings total37
Most winsQatar (15)
Top scorer Ali Mabkhout (5)

Fábio Lima (5)
Largest victoryQatar 5–0 United Arab Emirates
2021 FIFA Arab Cup
Al Khor
(10 December 2021)

United Arab Emirates 5–0 Qatar
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
Abu Dhabi
(19 November 2024)

The Qatar–United Arab Emirates football rivalry is an association football rivalry between two nations, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which involves the football teams of both nations.

The two nations' rivalry has begun since 1972, however, their rivalry had been largely friendly at first and both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates had no issue facing each other. Beginning in 2017, due to the Qatar diplomatic crisis and the downturn of relations, poor political relations have managed to affect football development, causing the rivalry to gain importance.