The
draw for the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021™ was conducted at Katara Opera House in
Doha tonight. The nine highest-ranked teams, including host country Qatar, will join the seven
winners from the qualifying stage in the final tournament. The 16 teams have
been drawn into four groups of four, as follows:
Group A: Qatar, Iraq, Oman or Somalia & Bahrain or Kuwait
Group B: Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Syria & Mauritania or Yemen
Group C: Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or South Sudan & Palestine or Comoros
Group D: Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon or Djibouti & Libya
or Sudan
The
four group winners and four group runners-up will proceed to the knockout
stage: quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place play-off and final. The matches
will take place at six Qatar 2022 stadiums, with the venues set to be confirmed
in due course.
The
tournament will take place later this year – during a similar timeslot to the
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. It is seen as a vital opportunity to test
operations and facilities exactly a year before Qatar hosts the first World Cup
in the Middle East and Arab world.
H.E.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President, Qatar Football
Association, said: "Qatar is very excited to host the FIFA Arab Cup later this
year. National teams from across the region will have the opportunity to
participate in a high-profile tournament which is sure to capture the attention
of fans everywhere. This is also an important step for the national team’s
development and the entire country as we fine-tune preparations for the FIFA
World Cup in 2022.”
H.E.
Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General, Supreme Committee for Delivery &
Legacy, said: "This tournament will see elite teams from across the Arab world
compete in a FIFA-sanctioned tournament for the first time.
"A
tournament of this magnitude – played exactly a year before the World Cup – is
sure to excite our football crazy region as we continue preparations for 2022.
We look forward to hosting the FIFA Arab Cup and using the tournament to
confirm our plans for the World Cup, which is just around the corner.”
Nasser
Al Khater, CEO, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC, said: "Following the successful
hosting of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019 and 2021, the FIFA Arab Cup provides
Qatar with yet another opportunity to test our plans and preparations ahead of
the FIFA World Cup. Fans, players and officials will have the opportunity to
use World Cup infrastructure, including stadiums, training sites and other
facilities. We greatly look forward to hosting national teams from across the
Arab world as we build up to the biggest sporting event in our region’s history
in 2022.”
Ahead
of the main draw, FIFA confirmed the pairings for the qualifying matches. The
14 lowest-ranked teams will take part in single-leg matches, with the ties
decided based on the April edition of the
FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings:
Oman (FIFA world ranking: 80) vs Somalia (197)
Lebanon (93) vs Djibouti (183)
Jordan (95) vs South Sudan (169)
Bahrain (99) vs Kuwait (148)
Mauritania (101) vs Yemen (145)
Palestine (104) vs Comoros (131)
Ends
Source: FIFA
Somali Football Federation Media Department
Email:Info@somsoccer.so