Qatar celebrates successful hosting of FIFA Arab Cup

FIFA Arab Cup was the first pan-Arab tournament to be held under the FIFA umbrella and took place exactly a year before Qatar will host the region’s first FIFA World Cup.

The tournament featured 32 matches over 19 days and 83 goals, at an average of 2.59 per game. It also provided Qatar with a vital opportunity to fine-tune preparations for the FIFA World Cup, which will kick off at Al Bayt on 21 November and conclude with the final at Lusail Stadium on 18 December.

More than 500,000 tickets were sold during the FIFA Arab Cup, which featured the highest sporting attendance in Qatar’s history – 64,439 – when the host nation faced the United Arab Emirates in the quarter-finals at Al Bayt Stadium.

Engineer Yasir Al Jamal, Chairman of the SC’s Operations Office and Vice Chairman, Technical Delivery Office, said: “We were incredibly proud to showcase six tournament venues during the FIFA Arab Cup. Thanks to the sterling work of our project teams and valued stakeholders, we have shown yet again that we are ready to host a memorable edition of the FIFA World Cup. The FIFA Arab Cup provided us with a vital opportunity to test a range of operations, including our stadiums and training sites, transport, accommodation, Fan ID, volunteers and others. We will now fully assess all functional areas over the coming weeks as we continue our preparations for 2022.”