Dates, venues, teams, format, and players to watch in the 11th edition of the tournament.

The region’s premier football competition returns as the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 kicks off today, bringing together 16 national teams for a celebration of Arab football from December 1 to 18.

Tournament Schedule

The opening match sees Tunisia face Syria, while the final will take place on December 18 at Lusail Stadium. The 32-match tournament will follow this schedule:

• Group Stage: December 1–9
• Quarterfinals: December 11–12
• Semifinals: December 15
• Third-Place Playoff: December 18
• Final: December 18

Host Nation and Venues

Qatar is hosting the Arab Cup for the third time, following editions in 1998 and 2021. Six stadiums, all used during the FIFA World Cup 2022, will stage the matches:

• Lusail City: Lusail Stadium (88,966 seats)
• Al Khor: Al Bayt Stadium (68,895 seats)
• Al Rayyan: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium (45,032 seats)
• Doha: Stadium 974 (44,089 seats)
• Education City: Education City Stadium (44,667 seats)
• Doha: Khalifa International Stadium (45,857 seats)

Al Bayt Stadium will host the opening match, while Lusail Stadium will stage the final.

Teams and Groups

Sixteen nations from the AFC and CAF are competing. Hosts Qatar and defending champions Algeria qualified automatically, along with seven top-ranked teams. The remaining seven earned their spots through playoffs held in Doha.

• Group A: Tunisia, Syria, Qatar, Palestine
• Group B: Morocco, Comoros, Saudi Arabia, Oman
• Group C: Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, UAE
• Group D: Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, Bahrain

Palestine secured their place after defeating Libya 4-3 on penalties in a tense playoff.

Prize Money and Format

This year’s edition offers a record prize pool exceeding $36.5 million, up from $25.5 million in 2021. The format includes a group stage followed by knockout rounds: quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final. Matches tied after regular time will go to extra time and penalties.

Past Champions

Iraq leads the Arab Cup history with four titles, followed by Saudi Arabia with two. Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria have each won once. Algeria enters as the reigning champion after defeating Tunisia in the 2021 final.

Why It Matters

The Arab Cup serves as a key test for teams ahead of the expanded FIFA World Cup 2026. Seven participating nations Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Algeria will also compete on football’s biggest stage next year.

Favourites and Players to Watch

Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan are considered strong contenders based on recent World Cup qualifying performances.
Key players include:

• Ali Olwan (Jordan): Third-highest scorer in AFC qualifiers
• Aymen Hussein (Iraq): Eight goals in qualification
• Aymen Dahmen (Tunisia): Six clean sheets in qualifiers
• Akram Afif (Qatar): Star forward for the hosts
• Salem Al-Dawsari (Saudi Arabia): Influential captain and playmaker