A general view of Al Thumama Stadium during the recently-held Amir Cup final. Al Thumama Stadium will host six matches during the Arab Cup tournament.
Doha: The 30-day countdown for the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021, which will bring Arab world’s best teams together, has begun.
As many as 16 teams will participate in the eagerly-awaited tournament to be held from November 30 to December 18.
Preparations are currently in full swing to organise an ideal tournament that will be a rehearsal for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The matches will be held at six of the eight World Cup venues including Al Bayt, Al Janoub, Ras Abu Aboud, Al Thumama, Education City and Ahmed bin Ali stadiums.
The Arab Cup returns in 2021 after a nine-year hiatus, under FIFA’s supervision.
The last Arab Cup was held in Saudi Arabia in 2012, in which Morocco became champions after beating Libya 3-1 on penalties in the final match.
Qatar – second time hosts of the tournament – has organised major global sporting events across all sports and is set to present an exemplary and distinct FIFA Arab Cup. Qatar possesses the most modern sports facilities in the world and the capabilities that made it the center of international sports for many years.
The FIFA Council officially approved the 2021 Arab Cup during the 15th meeting of the Council held at its headquarters in Zurich in March 2021.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed that the approval of the Arab Cup by the FIFA Council in Qatar 2021 was among the events that Qatar will organise in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Teams have been divided into four groups, with top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.
Group A of the FIFA Arab Cup consists of Qatar, Iraq, Oman and Bahrain. Group B consists of Tunisia, UAE, Syria and Mauritania. Group C consists of Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Palestine. Group D will include Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and Sudan.
The first edition of the Arab Cup was hosted in Lebanon in 1963 when Tunisia were emerged as champions. The Iraqi national team is the most decorated side with four titles. Saudi Arabia was crowned twice, while Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco have claimed one title each.
Former Lebanese player Adnan Al Sharqi was the first player to score a goal in the tournament against Kuwait.
In 1964, the second edition of the FIFA Arab Cup was held in Kuwait City, from Nov. 13 to 20, with the participation of Kuwait, Jordan, Libya, Iraq and Lebanon only. Iraq came first with seven points, while Libya came in second place with six points.
The third edition of the championship was held in 1966 in Baghdad from April 1 to 10 with hosts winning the title. The Arab Football Cup was halted for 16 years and Iraq retained their title with a win over Bahrain in the final.
The fifth edition of the Arab Cup was held in the Jordanian capital, where in the final, Iraq defeated Syria on penalty shootouts.
Syria hosted the sixth edition of the Arab Cup, won by Egypt after defeating Saudi Arabia. The seventh edition of the Arab Cup was held in Qatar in 1998, when the Saudi team beat the hosts in the final.
The eighth Arab Cup tournament was held in 2002 in Kuwait City again, from Dec. 16 to 30, with the participation of ten teams which were divided into two groups.
In the final, Saudi Arabia defeated Bahrain with the golden goal, after the match ended in a goalless draw.
The ninth Arab Cup tournament was held in 2012 in Saudi Arabia again from June 22 to July 6, with the participation of 11 teams which were divided into three groups.
In the final match of the tournament, Morocco defeated Libya 3-1 by penalties shootouts, after the original and extra time ended in a draw, to win the first title in its history.
