CAF President Motsepe attends FIFA Arab Draw in Doha to land support for African teams

CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe joined a host of dignitaries for the draw of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 at the Katara Opera House in Doha, Qatar.

Also present was FIFA President Gianni Infantino and AFC President Shaikh Ibrahim bin Salman.

A number of African teams are scheduled to participate in the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar. They are: Algeria, Egypt, Somalia, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco, South Sudan, Comoros, Djibouti, Libya and Sudan.

A number of the African teams listed above will still participate in the qualifying phase of the competition.

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

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.

Group D: Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon or Djibouti & Libya or Sudan

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.”