| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Oman |
| Dates | 15–28 October |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 35 (2.33 per match) |
The 13th Arabian Gulf Cup (Arabic: كأس الخليج العربي)[1] was held in Oman, in October 1996. Kuwait won the tournament for the 8th time.
Iraq continued to be banned from the tournament over its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
The teams played a single round-robin style competition. The team achieving first place in the overall standings was the tournament winner.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kuwait
|
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 12 |
 Qatar
|
5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 10 |
 Saudi Arabia
|
5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 8 |
 United Arab Emirates
|
5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
 Bahrain
|
5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 2 |
 Oman
|
5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 2 |
| 13th Arabian Gulf Cup winners |
|---|
 Kuwait 8th title |
