FIFA Arab Cup

FIFA Arab Cup
Organising body	UAFA (1985–2012); FIFA (2021–present)
Founded	1963; 61 years ago
Region	Arab world
Number of teams	16 (finals)
Current champions	Algeria (1st title)
Most successful team(s)	Iraq (4 titles)
Website	fifa.com/arabcup
	2025 FIFA Arab Cup

The FIFA Arab Cup (Arabic: كأس العرب, romanized: Kaʾs al-ʿArab), or Arab Cup, is an international association football competition organized by FIFA. It is held every four years with the participation of senior men's national teams of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA), the 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.

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

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] On 15 May 2024, FIFA announced that Qatar will host the tournament in 2025, 2029 and 2033, and the tournament will follow the principle of an invitational competition not included in the International Match Calendar.^[10]

Results

Keys

a.e.t.: after extra time
p: penalty shoot-out
awd: awarded result.
TBD: to be determined.

Ed.	Year	Host	First place game			Third place game			Teams
Ed.	Year	Host	Champion	Score	Runner-up	Third place	Score	Fourth place	Teams
Arab Cup
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	Syria	Libya	6–1	Lebanon	10
4	1985	Saudi Arabia	Iraq	1–0	Bahrain	Saudi Arabia	0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–1 p)	Qatar	6
5	1988	Jordan	Iraq	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	Syria	Egypt	2–0	Jordan	10
6	1992^[a]	Syria	Egypt	3–2	Saudi Arabia	Kuwait	2–1	Syria	6
7	1998	Qatar	Saudi Arabia	3–1	Qatar	Kuwait	4–1	United Arab Emirates	12
8	2002	Kuwait	Saudi Arabia	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Bahrain	Jordan and Morocco^[b]			10
–	2009	Edition cancelled during qualification due to lack of sponsorship^[11]
9	2012	Saudi Arabia	Morocco	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–1 p)	Libya	Iraq	1–0	Saudi Arabia	11
FIFA Arab Cup
10	2021	Qatar	Algeria	2–0 (a.e.t.)	Tunisia	Qatar	0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Egypt	16
11	2025		TBD			TBD			TBD
12	2029		TBD			TBD
13	2033		TBD			TBD

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d A round-robin tournament determined the final standings.

^ The 1992 edition organized as part of the 1992 Arab Games football tournament was also counted as a part of the Arab Cup.
^ No third place match was played.

Teams reaching the top four

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*)	—	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

Total times teams qualified by confederation
Confederation	AFC	CAF	Total
Teams	66	25	91
Top 8	32	11	43
Top 4	29	11	40
Top 2	13	7	20
1st	6	4	10
2nd	7	3	10
3rd	7	2	9
4th	8	1	9
Semi-finals	1	1	2

Champions by confederation
Confederation (continent)	Champion(s)	Titles
AFC (Asia)	Iraq (4), Saudi Arabia (2)	6
CAF (Africa)	Algeria (1), Egypt (1), Morocco (1), Tunisia (1)	4

Records and statistics

Comprehensive team results by tournament

Legend

1st – Champions
2nd – Runners-up
3rd – Third place
4th – Fourth place
SF – Semi-final (no third place match)

GS – Group stage
Q — Qualified for upcoming tournament
• — Did not qualify
× — Did not participate
— Hosts

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)	2025 (...)	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	Q	4
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)	2025 (...)	Total

Notes

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

References

^ 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.
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ ^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.
^ Morrison, Neil. "Arab Cup 1963 Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
^ ^a ^b Abboud, John; Nygård, Jostein; Qayed, Mohammed. "Arab Cup". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
^ "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.
^ "FIFA Arab Cup 2021 – Teams – Lebanon". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "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.
^ "Key tournament decisions made by FIFA Council". FIFA.com. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
^ "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

Official website
Arab Cup at the RSSSF

[roundrobin-11] A round-robin tournament determined the final standings.

[games-12] The 1992 edition organized as part of the 1992 Arab Games football tournament was also counted as a part of the Arab Cup.

[2002ac-13] No third place match was played.

[2012_Arab_Cup-15] In the 2002 Arab Cup there was no Third place playoff so both Morocco and Jordan were awarded 3rd place.

[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.

[:1-4] 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.

[:0-6] 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] "Key tournament decisions made by FIFA Council". FIFA.com. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.

[14] "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.

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