FIFA Arab Cup

This article is about the men's association football tournament. For the women's tournament, see Arab Women's 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 Morocco who won their second title at the 2025 tournament in Qatar.

FIFA Arab Cup

Organiser(s)	UAFA (1982–2012) FIFA (2021–present)
Founded	1963; 62 years ago (1963)
Region	Arab world
Teams	16 (finals)
Current champions	Morocco (2nd title)
Most championships	Iraq (4 titles)
Website	fifa.com/arabcup
2025 FIFA Arab Cup

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 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.

In the 1980s, the competition returned under the hospicies of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA).^[4][6] The 1982 édition was on first canceled however it begans in 1985. 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

• 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
				Champions	Score	Runners-up		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]
–	1982	Edition cancelled during qualification due to the 1982 Lebanon War[16]
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[17]
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

Notes

1. A round-robin tournament determined the final standings.

1. From 1982 to 2012, the competition was under the auspices of UAFA.
2. The 1992 edition organized as part of the 1992 Arab Games football tournament was also counted as part of the Arab Cup.
3. No third place match was played.
4. 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

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

* hosts

Best performances by confederations

Total times teams qualified by confederation Confederation AFC CAF Total Teams 76 31 107 Top 4 32 12 44 Top 2 14 8 22 1st 6 5 11 2nd 8 3 11 3rd 9 2 11 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) Morocco (2), Algeria (1), Egypt (1), Tunisia (1) 5

Records and statistics

Main article: FIFA Arab Cup records and statistics

Comprehensive team results by tournament

Legend

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

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 (16)	2029 (16)	Total
Algeria	×	×	×	×	GS	×	GS	×	×	1st	QF		4
Bahrain	×	×	GS	2nd	GS	×	×	2nd	GS	GS	GS		7
Comoros				×	×	×	×	×	×	•	GS		1
Egypt	×	×	×	×	3rd	1st	GS	×	GS	4th	GS		6
Iraq	×	1st	1st	1st	1st	×	×	×	3rd	GS	QF		7
Jordan	GS	GS	GS	GS	4th	GS	GS	SF	×	QF	2nd		10
Kuwait	4th	3rd	GS	×	GS	3rd	3rd	GS	GS	•	GS		9
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	1st		5
Oman	×	×	GS	×	×	×	×	×	×	QF	GS		3
Palestine	×	×	GS	×	×	GS	•	GS	GS	GS	QF		6
Qatar	×	×	×	4th	×	×	2nd	×	×	3rd	GS	Q	5
Saudi Arabia	×	×	×	3rd	GS	2nd	1st	1st	4th	GS	3rd		8
Sudan	×	×	×	•	×	×	GS	GS	GS	GS	GS		5
Syria	2nd	×	2nd	×	2nd	4th	GS	GS	×	GS	QF		8
Tunisia	1st	×	×	×	GS	×	×	×	×	2nd	GS		4
United Arab Emirates	×	×	×	×	×	×	4th	×	×	QF	3rd		3
Yemen	×	×	GS	×	×	×	×	GS	GS	•	•		3

See also

• Palestine Cup of Nations
• Football at the Arab Games
• Arab Women's Cup
• Arab Club Champions Cup

Notes

1. 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. There was no third place match in the 2002 Arab Cup.