| Organiser(s) | UAFA (1985–2012) FIFA (2021–present) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1963; 62 years ago (1963) |
| Region | Arab world |
| Teams | 16 (finals) |
| Current champions | |
| Most championships | |
| Website | fifa.com/arabcup |
| Tournaments |
|---|
TheFIFA Arab Cup (Arabic:كأس العرب,romanized: Kaʾs al-ʿArab), orArab Cup, is an internationalassociation football competition organized byFIFA. It is held every four years with the participation of seniormen's national teams of theUnion of Arab Football Associations (UAFA), the governing body for countries in theArab world.[1] The current champion isAlgeria, which won its first title at the2021 tournament in Qatar.
The championship's inaugural edition was in1963, held in Lebanon, which was won byTunisia. After having been played in1964 and1966, the Arab Cup was halted for almost 20 years, before being contested in1985. The tournament was played five more times until2012, 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 areSaudi Arabia, with two titles; Algeria,Egypt,Morocco, and inaugural winnerTunisia, 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.
The initial idea for the conception of an Arab Cup came in 1957 from Lebanese journalistNassif Majdalani and the Secretary General of theLebanese 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] Thefirst Arab Cup was held inBeirut between April and May 1963, with the participation of five teams.[5]
During the 16-year hiatus between 1966 and 1982, the Arab Cup wasde facto replaced by thePalestine Cup, which was held three times in the 1970s and then became ayouth tournament after the return of the Arab Cup in the 1980s.[4][6] The1992 Arab Cup was also organised as part of the1992 Arab Games.[6]
The2021 edition was the first edition to be organised byFIFA; the competition was renamed FIFA Arab Cup.[7][8] Following the2021 final, FIFA PresidentGianni Infantino announced that FIFA would continue to oversee future editions.[9] On 15 May 2024, FIFA announced thatQatar 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]
| Ed. | Year | Host | First place game | Third place game | Teams | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Score | Fourth place | |||||||||
| Arab Cup | |||||||||||
| 1 | 1963 | Tunisia | [note 1] | Syria | Lebanon | [note 1] | Kuwait | 5 | |||
| 2 | 1964 | Iraq | [note 1] | Libya | Kuwait | [note 1] | Lebanon | 5 | |||
| 3 | 1966 | Iraq | 2–1 | Syria | Libya | 6–1 | Lebanon | 10 | |||
| 4 | 1985 | Iraq | 1–0 | Bahrain | Saudi Arabia | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–1p) | Qatar | 6 | |||
| 5 | 1988 | Iraq | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–3p) | Syria | Egypt | 2–0 | Jordan | 10 | |||
| 6 | 1992[a] | Egypt | 3–2 | Saudi Arabia | Kuwait | 2–1 | Syria | 6 | |||
| 7 | 1998 | Saudi Arabia | 3–1 | Qatar | Kuwait | 4–1 | United Arab Emirates | 12 | |||
| 8 | 2002 | Saudi Arabia | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Bahrain | 10 | ||||||
| – | 2009 | Edition cancelled during qualification due to lack of sponsorship[11] | |||||||||
| 9 | 2012 | Morocco | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–1p) | Libya | Iraq | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia | 11 | |||
| FIFA Arab Cup | |||||||||||
| 10 | 2021 | Algeria | 2–0 (a.e.t.) | Tunisia | Qatar | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–4p) | Egypt | 16 | |||
| 11 | 2025 | TBD | TBD | 16 | |||||||
| 12 | 2029 | TBD | TBD | TBD | |||||||
| 13 | 2033 | TBD | TBD | ||||||||
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Semi final | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 (1964,1966*,1985,1988) | — | 1 (2012) | — | — | 5 | |
| 2 (1998,2002) | 1 (1992) | 1 (1985*) | 1 (2012*) | — | 5 | |
| 1 (1963) | 1 (2021) | — | — | — | 2 | |
| 1 (1992) | — | 1 (1988) | 1 (2021) | — | 3 | |
| 1 (2012) | — | — | — | 1 (2002)[a] | 2 | |
| 1 (2021) | — | — | — | — | 1 | |
| — | 3 (1963,1966,1988) | — | 1 (1992*) | — | 4 | |
| — | 2 (1964,2012) | 1 (1966) | — | — | 3 | |
| — | 2 (1985,2002) | — | — | — | 2 | |
| — | 1 (1998*) | 1 (2021*) | 1 (1985) | — | 3 | |
| — | — | 3 (1964*,1992,1998) | 1 (1963) | — | 4 | |
| — | — | 1 (1963*) | 2 (1964,1966) | — | 3 | |
| — | — | — | 1 (1988*) | 1 (2002)[a] | 2 | |
| — | — | — | 1 (1998) | — | 1 |
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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 (16) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| × | × | × | × | GS | × | GS | × | × | 1st | Q | 3 | |
| × | × | GS | 2nd | GS | × | × | 2nd | GS | GS | 6 | ||
| × | × | × | × | 3rd | 1st | GS | × | GS | 4th | Q | 5 | |
| × | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | × | × | × | 3rd | GS | Q | 6 | |
| GS | GS | GS | GS | 4th | GS | GS | SF | × | QF | Q | 9 | |
| 4th | 3rd | GS | × | GS | 3rd | 3rd | GS | GS | • | 8 | ||
| 3rd | 4th | 4th | × | GS | × | GS | GS | GS | GS | 8 | ||
| × | 2nd | 3rd | × | × | × | GS | × | 2nd | • | 4 | ||
| × | × | × | GS | • | × | × | × | × | GS | 2 | ||
| × | × | × | × | × | × | GS | SF | 1st | QF | Q | 4 | |
| × | × | GS | × | × | × | × | × | × | QF | 2 | ||
| × | × | GS | × | × | GS | • | GS | GS | GS | 5 | ||
| × | × | × | 4th | × | × | 2nd | × | × | 3rd | Q | 4 | |
| × | × | × | 3rd | GS | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 4th | GS | Q | 7 | |
| × | × | × | • | × | × | GS | GS | GS | GS | 4 | ||
| 2nd | × | 2nd | × | 2nd | 4th | GS | GS | × | GS | 7 | ||
| 1st | × | × | × | GS | × | × | × | × | 2nd | Q | 3 | |
| × | × | × | × | × | × | 4th | × | × | QF | Q | 2 | |
| × | × | 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 (16) | Total |