FIFA Arab Cup

Association football competition for men's national teams in the Arab world From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The FIFA Arab Cup (Arabic: كأس العرب, romanized: Kaʾs al-ʿArab), often called the 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 Morocco who won their second title at the 2025 tournament in Qatar.

Organiser(s)UAFA (1982–2012)
FIFA (2021–present)
Founded1963; 63 years ago (1963)
RegionArab world
Teams16 (finals)
Quick facts Organiser(s), Founded ...
FIFA Arab Cup
Organiser(s)UAFA (1982–2012)
FIFA (2021–present)
Founded1963; 63 years ago (1963)
RegionArab world
Teams16 (finals)
Current champions Morocco (2nd title)
Most championships Iraq (4 titles)
Websitefifa.com/arabcup
2025 FIFA Arab Cup
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The championship's inaugural edition, held in Lebanon in 1963, 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 eleven Arab Cup tournaments have been won by six national teams. Iraq have won four times; the other Arab Cup winners are Saudi Arabia and Morocco, with two titles each; and Algeria, Egypt, and inaugural winner Tunisia, with one title each.

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

History

The initial idea to establish 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 in April and May 1963, with the participation of five teams.[5]

During the 17-year hiatus between 1966 and 1983, 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.

In the 1980s, the competition returned under the auspices of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA).[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, in which Algeria defeated Tunisia 2–0 to win the tournament,[9] FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that FIFA would continue to oversee future editions.[10] On 15 May 2024, FIFA announced that Qatar would host the tournament in 2025, 2029 and 2033, and the tournament would follow the principle of an invitational competition not included in the International Match Calendar.[11]

The 2025 edition became the first Arab Cup tournament to surpass one million spectators, reaching a total attendance of 1,236,600.[12][13] Its final, held at Lusail Stadium, drew a record-breaking attendance of 84,517 spectators as Morocco defeated Jordan 3–2 to claim the title.[14][15]

Results

See also: List of FIFA Arab Cup finals
Keys
More information Ed., Year ...
Ed. Year Host First place game Third place game Teams
1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions Score 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third place Score Fourth place
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
Arab Cup (UAFA)[a]
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[b] 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[c] 10
– 2009 Edition cancelled during qualification due to lack of sponsorship[16]
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 Qatar
Morocco		 3–2 (a.e.t.)
Jordan		  Saudi Arabia and  United Arab Emirates[d] 16
12 2029 Qatar TBD TBD TBD
13 2033 Qatar TBD TBD
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Notes
  1. [1]
    A round-robin tournament determined the final standings.
  1. [a]
    From 1985 to 2012, the competition was under the auspices of UAFA.
  2. [b]
    The 1992 edition organized as part of the 1992 Arab Games football tournament was also counted as part of the Arab Cup.
  3. [c]
    No third place match was played.
  4. [d]
    Match was abandoned at half-time due to adverse weather, which resulted in FIFA declaring the final result as 0–0 and third place being shared between both Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Teams reaching the top four

More information Team, Winners ...
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) 2 (1985*, 2025)[a] 1 (2012*) — 6
 Morocco 2 (2012, 2025) — — — 1 (2002)[b] 3
 Tunisia 1 (1963) 1 (2021) — — — 2
 Egypt 1 (1992) — 1 (1988) 1 (2021) — 3
 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
 Jordan — 1 (2025) — 1 (1988*) 1 (2002)[b] 3
 Kuwait — — 3 (1964*, 1992, 1998) 1 (1963) — 4
 Lebanon — — 1 (1963*) 2 (1964, 1966) — 3
 United Arab Emirates — — 1 (2025)[a] 1 (1998) — 2
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* hosts

Best performances by confederations

More information Confederation, AFC ...
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Records and statistics

Main article: FIFA Arab Cup records and statistics

Comprehensive team results by tournament

Legend

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

More information Team, 1963 (5) ...
Team 1963
Lebanon
(5)		 1964
Kuwait
(5)		 1966
Iraq
(10)		 1985
Saudi Arabia
(6)		 1988
Jordan
(10)		 1992
Syria
(6)		 1998
Qatar
(12)		 2002
Kuwait
(10)		 2012
Saudi Arabia
(11)		 2021
Qatar
(16)		 2025
Qatar
(16)		 2029
Qatar
(16)		 Total
 Algeria ××××GS×GS××1stQF 4
 Bahrain ××GS2ndGS××2ndGSGSGS 7
 Comoros ×××××וGS 1
 Egypt ××××3rd1stGS×GS4thGS 6
 Iraq ×1st1st1st1st×××3rdGSQF 7
 Jordan GSGSGSGS4thGSGSSF×QF2nd 10
 Kuwait 4th3rdGS×GS3rd3rdGSGS•GS 9
 Lebanon 3rd4th4th×GS×GSGSGSGS• 8
 Libya ×2nd3rd×××GS×2nd•• 4
 Mauritania ×××GS•××××GS• 2
 Morocco ××××××GSSF1stQF1st 5
 Oman ××GS××××××QFGS 3
 Palestine ××GS××GS•GSGSGSQF 6
 Qatar ×××4th××2nd××3rdGSQ 5
 Saudi Arabia ×××3rdGS2nd1st1st4thGS3rd 8
 Sudan ××ו××GSGSGSGSGS 5
 Syria 2nd×2nd×2nd4thGSGS×GSQF 8
 Tunisia 1st×××GS××××2ndGS 4
 United Arab Emirates ××××××4th××QF3rd 3
 Yemen ××GS××××GSGS•• 3
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See also

Notes

  1. [a]
    Third place match in 2025 was abandoned due to adverse weather, which resulted in FIFA declaring third place to be shared between both Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
  2. [b]
    There was no third place match in the 2002 Arab Cup.

References

External links

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