FIFA Arab Cup

Summary

The FIFA Arab Cup (Arabic: كأس العرب, romanizedKaʾs al-ʿArab), or simply Arab Cup, is an international association football competition which has been organized by FIFA since 2021, and is contested by the senior men's national teams of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA), the sport's governing body for countries in the Arab world.[1] The current champion is Algeria, which won its first title at the 2021 tournament in Qatar.

FIFA Arab Cup
Organising bodyUAFA
FIFA (from 2021)
Founded1963; 61 years ago (1963)
RegionArab world
Number of teams16 (finals)
Current champions Algeria (1st title)
Most successful team(s) Iraq (4 titles)
Websitefifa.com/arabcup
2021 FIFA Arab Cup

The championship's inaugural edition was in 1963, held in Lebanon, which was won by Tunisia. After having been played in 1964 and 1966, the Arab Cup was halted for almost 20 years, before being contested in 1985. The tournament was played five more times until 2012, the last competition organized by the UAFA. The 2021 edition was the first organized by FIFA.

The ten Arab Cup tournaments have been won by six national teams. Iraq have won four times; the other Arab Cup winners are Saudi Arabia, with two titles; Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and inaugural winner Tunisia, with one title each.

Seven countries have hosted the Arab Cup. Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have each hosted twice, while Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Syria have each hosted once. All Arab Cups have been held in Asia.

History edit

The initial idea for the conception of an Arab Cup came in 1957 from Lebanese journalist Nassif Majdalani and the Secretary General of the Lebanese Football Association (LFA) Izzat Al Turk.[2][3] In 1962, the LFA called for the formal establishment of the tournament through their president Georges Dabbas, who organised a general Arab assembly for the formation of the Arab Cup.[4] The first Arab Cup was held in Beirut between April and May 1963, with the participation of five teams.[5]

During the 16-year hiatus between 1966 and 1982, the Arab Cup was de facto replaced by the Palestine Cup, which was held three times in the 1970s and then became a youth tournament after the return of the Arab Cup in the 1980s.[4][6] The 1992 Arab Cup was also organised as part of the 1992 Arab Games.[6]

The 2021 edition was the first edition to be organised by FIFA; the competition was renamed FIFA Arab Cup.[7][8] Following the 2021 final, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that FIFA would continue to oversee future editions.[9]

Results edit

Edition Year Hosts Champions Score and Venue Runners-up Third place Score and Venue Fourth place No. of teams
1 1963   Lebanon  
Tunisia
[note 1]  
Syria
 
Lebanon
[note 1]  
Kuwait
5
2 1964   Kuwait  
Iraq
[note 1]  
Libya
 
Kuwait
[note 1]  
Lebanon
5
3 1966   Iraq  
Iraq
2–1
Al-Kashafa Stadium, Baghdad
 
Syria
 
Libya
6–1
Al-Kashafa Stadium, Baghdad
 
Lebanon
10
1982 Edition cancelled during qualification because of the 1982 Lebanon War
4 1985   Saudi Arabia  
Iraq
1–0
King Fahd Stadium, Taif
 
Bahrain
 
Saudi Arabia
0–0 (a.e.t.)
(4–1 p)
King Fahd Stadium, Taif
 
Qatar
6
5 1988   Jordan  
Iraq
1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)
Amman International Stadium, Amman
 
Syria
 
Egypt
2–0
Amman International Stadium, Amman
 
Jordan
10
6 1992[a]   Syria  
Egypt
3–2
Al-Hamadaniah Stadium, Aleppo
 
Saudi Arabia
 
Kuwait
2–1
Al-Hamadaniah Stadium, Aleppo
 
Syria
6
7 1998   Qatar  
Saudi Arabia
3–1
Khalifa International Stadium, Doha
 
Qatar
 
Kuwait
4–1
Khalifa International Stadium, Doha
 
United Arab Emirates
12
8 2002   Kuwait  
Saudi Arabia
1–0 (a.e.t.)
Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City
 
Bahrain
  Jordan and   Morocco[b] 10
2009 Edition cancelled during qualification due to lack of sponsors[10]
9 2012   Saudi Arabia  
Morocco
1–1 (a.e.t.)
(3–1 p)
Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
 
Libya
 
Iraq
1–0
Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
 
Saudi Arabia
11
10 2021   Qatar  
Algeria
2–0 (a.e.t.)
Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
 
Tunisia
 
Qatar
0–0 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)
Stadium 974, Doha
 
Egypt
16
  • a.e.t.: after extra time
  • p: after penalty shoot-out
  • TBD: to be determined
Notes
  1. ^ a b c d A round-robin tournament determined the final standings.
  1. ^ The 1992 edition organized as part of the 1992 Arab Games football tournament was also counted as a part of the Arab Cup.
  2. ^ No third place match was played.

Teams reaching the top four edit

Teams reaching the top four
Team Winners Runners-up Third place Fourth place Semi final Total
  Iraq 4 (1964, 1966*, 1985, 1988) 1 (2012) 5
  Saudi Arabia 2 (1998, 2002) 1 (1992) 1 (1985*) 1 (2012*) 5
  Tunisia 1 (1963) 1 (2021) 2
  Egypt 1 (1992) 1 (1988) 1 (2021) 3
  Morocco 1 (2012) 1 (2002)[a] 2
  Algeria 1 (2021) 1
  Syria 3 (1963, 1966, 1988) 1 (1992*) 4
  Libya 2 (1964, 2012) 1 (1966) 3
  Bahrain 2 (1985, 2002) 2
  Qatar 1 (1998*) 1 (2021*) 1 (1985) 3
  Kuwait 3 (1964*, 1992, 1998) 1 (1963) 4
  Lebanon 1 (1963*) 2 (1964, 1966) 3
  Jordan 1 (1988*) 1 (2002)[a] 2
  United Arab Emirates 1 (1998) 1
* hosts

Best performances by confederations edit

Records and statistics edit

Comprehensive team results by tournament edit

Legend

For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament are shown (in parentheses).

Team 1963
 
(5)
1964
 
(5)
1966
 
(10)
1985
 
(6)
1988
 
(10)
1992
 
(6)
1998
 
(12)
2002
 
(10)
2012
 
(11)
2021
 
(16)
Total
  Algeria × × × × GS × GS × × 1st 3
  Bahrain × × GS 2nd GS × × 2nd GS GS 6
  Egypt × × × × 3rd 1st GS × GS 4th 5
  Iraq × 1st 1st 1st 1st × × × 3rd GS 6
  Jordan GS GS GS GS 4th GS GS SF × QF 9
  Kuwait 4th 3rd GS × GS 3rd 3rd GS GS 8
  Lebanon 3rd 4th 4th × GS × GS GS GS GS 8
  Libya × 2nd 3rd × × × GS × 2nd 4
  Mauritania × × × GS × × × × GS 2
  Morocco × × × × × × GS SF 1st QF 4
  Oman × × GS × × × × × × QF 2
  Palestine × × GS × × GS GS GS GS 5
  Qatar × × × 4th × × 2nd × × 3rd 3
  Saudi Arabia × × × 3rd GS 2nd 1st 1st 4th GS 7
  Sudan × × × × × GS GS GS GS 4
  Syria 2nd × 2nd × 2nd 4th GS GS × GS 7
  Tunisia 1st × × × GS × × × × 2nd 3
  United Arab Emirates × × × × × × 4th × × QF 2
  Yemen × × GS × × × × GS GS 3
Team 1963
 
(5)
1964
 
(5)
1966
 
(10)
1985
 
(6)
1988
 
(10)
1992
 
(6)
1998
 
(12)
2002
 
(10)
2012
 
(11)
2021
 
(16)
Total

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b In the 2002 Arab Cup there was no Third place playoff so both Morocco and Jordan were awarded 3rd place.

References edit

  1. ^ نتائج اجتماع الجمعية العمومية غير العادي واجتماع اللجنة التنفيذية للاتحاد العربي لكرة القدم [The results of the General Meeting of UAFA's Executive Committee]. UAFA (in Arabic). 20 December 2017. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  2. ^ "قبل انطلاقها.. ماذا يخبرنا التاريخ عن بطولة "كأس العرب"؟". Sky News Arabia. Saber Hussam-Eddin. 28 November 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  3. ^ "كأس العرب: لبنان موطن الفكرة لم يحقق أي انجاز". france24. 28 November 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b موسوعة كرة القدم العراقية من الالف الى الياء ... بطولة كأس العرب [Encyclopedia of Iraqi football from A to Z ... Arab Cup Championship]. Kooora.com (in Arabic). 18 September 2005. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  5. ^ Morrison, Neil. "Arab Cup 1963 Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b Abboud, John; Nygård, Jostein; Qayed, Mohammed. "Arab Cup". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  7. ^ "الاتحاد العربي" يعلن عن مسابقاته للموسم القادم [The "Arab Union" announces its competitions for the next season]. UAFA (in Arabic). 25 April 2021. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  8. ^ "FIFA Arab Cup 2021 – Teams – Lebanon". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Gianni Infantino: FIFA Arab Cup set to continue". FIFA.com. 18 December 2021. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  10. ^ "UAFA : 44 millions dollars pour la relance des compétitions". ES Tunis media site. TAP. 2012. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2020.

External links edit

  • Official website  
  • Arab Cup at the RSSSF