When and what is the FIFA Arab Cup?

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The second edition of the FIFA tournament will take place later this year

The FIFA Arab Cup Trophy
The FIFA Arab Cup Trophy (Image credit: Getty Images)

With an expanded World Cup on the horizon at the end of the season, the Africa Cup of Nations on the way in December and last summer's revamped Club World Cup in the rearview mirror, it's perhaps easy to lose track of FIFA's ever-growing slate of tournaments.

So with that in mind, we'll let you off if the FIFA Arab Cup has perhaps slipped off your radar when it comes to planning your football-watching schedule for the next few months.

What is the FIFA Arab Cup?

Algeria AFCON 2023 squad: The starting players for Algeria are posing for a group photo before the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Group D football match between Algeria and Angola at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake, Ivory Coast, on January 15, 2024. (Photo by Anis / APP)

Algeria are the defending champions (Image credit: Getty Images)

The inaugural edition of the Arab Cup was organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and played in Lebanon in 1963, with Tunisia lifting the trophy. Two more editions followed in 1964 and 1966 before the competition was shelved until 1985, when it was played five more times until 2012.

In 2021, FIFA brought the competition back, with Algeria defeating Tunisia in the final, which was played in Qatar, a year before the nation hosted the World Cup final.

Lusail Stadium exterior

The Lusail Stadium in Qatar will host December's final (Image credit: Getty)

Qatar will again be the host for what FIFA describe as the second edition of the competition, which kicks off on December 1, with the final taking place on December 18.

The tournament is played in six stadiums that hosted the 2022 World Cup, including the Lusail Stadium which will be the venue for the final.

Format-wise, a total of 16 teams from both the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will take part. Hosts Qatar and holders Algeria qualify automatically, as do the seven highest-ranked nations at the time of the draw, with the remaining places filled via a series of single-leg qualification matches which take place in November.

Who has qualified?

That means the following teams have qualified:

  • Qatar (hosts)
  • Algeria (defending champion)
  • Egypt
  • Iraq
  • Jordan
  • Morocco
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Tunisia
  • United Arab Emirates

While the play-offs will be contested between:

Oman v Somalia

Bahrain v Djibouti

Syria v South Sudan

Palestine v Libya

Lebanon v Sudan

Kuwait v Mauritania

Yemen v Comoros

FIFA Arab Cup draw

The draw was held in Doha in May, with teams put into four groups of four. The top two in each group will qualify for the knockout stage, which consists of quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final on December 18:

Group A: Qatar, Tunisia, Syria/South Sudan, Palestine/Libya

Group B: Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Oman/Somalia, Yemen/Comoros

Group C: Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait/Mauritania

Group D: Algeria, Iraq, Bahrain/Djibouti, Lebanon/Sudan

Joe Mewis
Joe Mewis

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

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