Al Thawadi: Arab Cup Opportunity to Test Readiness for Qatar 2022

Doha, April 27 (QNA) - HE Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Hassan Abdullah Al Thawadi said that competitions of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 will bring together 23 teams from the Arab region, therefore the tournament enjoys the attention of the FIFA as the first tournament to gather the national teams of the Arab region under the umbrella of the FIFA. In remarks following the draw of the tournament which will be held in Doha in December, HE Al Thawadi said that the FIFA Arab Cup comes exactly one year ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, so it is an opportunity to test the readiness of the facilities, operational processes and plans to host the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which is scheduled to start less than a year after the conclusion of the Arab Cup competitions. He added that the tournament represents an Arab gathering of football teams from the ocean to the Gulf, especially as it represents the elite teams from Asia and Africa and has a prominent presence in global football, noting that fans have always been eager to see the national teams competing for this title, which confirms their passion for the game. The draw for the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 was conducted at Katara Opera House in Doha on Tuesday evening. The tournament is jointly organized by the FIFA and the Union of Arab Football Associations. The nine highest-ranked teams 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, Winner of Oman v. Somalia and Winner of Bahrain v. Kuwait Group B: Tunisia, UAE, Syria and Winner of Mauritania v. Yemen Group C: Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Winner of Jordan v. South Sudan and Winner of Palestine v. Comoros Group D: Algeria, Egypt, Winner of Lebanon v. Djibouti and Winner of Libya v. Sudan