The first FIFA Arab Cup - to be held in Qatar later this year - will unite the Arab world, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said yesterday.
Infantino made his remarks before the draw ceremony of the 16-team tournament which was held at the Katara Opera House where regional sports and football bigwigs were also in attendance.
The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) President H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani was joined by Qatar Football Association (QFA) President H E Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed AlThani and the AFC chief Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa. Qatar will host the December 1-18 event at six brand new stadiums to be used during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Qatar, the reigning Asian champions, were drawn with Iraq in the main draw yesterday. Two qualifying teams from Oman, Somalia, Bahrain or Kuwait will join Qatar and Iraq in Group A. A total of seven countries will reach the main draw after playing qualifying matches. The FIFA Arab Cup will help Qatar use its new playing and training facilities ahead of the World Cup next year.
“This will be a fantastic event. The first of many, hopefully. The first Arab Cup will be played here towards the end of the year in Qatar. This event will be used to unite the Arab world. Around 450 million people will cheer and cherish and will find out which out of the 23 teams is the best in the Arab world,” Infantino said last night. “Everything is almost in ready in Qatar to host the Arab Cup and the World Cup. Much more important is the celebration of Arab unity, a celebration of fraternity, a celebration of football which will set the scene for what would be the best ever FIFA World Cup in 2022 here in Qatar,” Infantino said in his opening remarks.
“It is a great pleasure to be here today in front of you what is indeed a historic event. I want to thank our hosts in this beautiful Katara Opera House. The QOC Chairman and the QFA President are also here. We have our guests from all over the world - AFC President and FIFA’s senior officials are also here along with representatives from all the 23 participating countries,” the FIFA President added.
“This event will help Qatar prepare for the World Cup,” he added. FIFA legends Wael Gomaa (Egypt), Nawaf Al Temyat (Saudi Arabia), Haytham Mustafa (Sudan) and Younus Mahmood (Iraq), along with FIFA’s Director of Competitions, Manolo Zubiria were also present at the draw ceremony.
Asian football chief Sheikh Salman said he was ‘very happy with the presence of so many Arab countries in Doha under one roof to participate in the Arab Championship’. He added that the tournament will be a useful experience for Qatar’s preparations to host the FIFA World Cup 2022, which will be held for the first time in the Middle East and the Arab world. Qatar coach Felix Sanchez, who guided the team to Asian Cup title in 2019, yesterday said he is looking forward to playing in the tournament.
“For us, it is an important event because we can evaluate how we will perform at the World Cup next year,” Sanchez said yesterday. “In my opinion, it is a strong group though we have confirmed only one opponent. The other (possible) opponents (Oman, Somalia, Bahrain or Kuwait) we may face are also strong and hopefully we can perform well and qualify for the next round,” Sanchez added.
