Receive news, analysis, and other content straight to your inbox by subscribing to Football Palestine (free or paid), here
In a much delayed but anticipated event. FIFA has announced the draw date and time for the second edition of the FIFA backed Arab Cup slated to run from December 1st to December 18th.
The 2025 Finals will be the 11th edition overall since 1963 and will be the second consecutive time the Arab showpiece is held in Qatar who have hosting rights through 2033.
In order to whittle down the 23 Arab Teams to 16 there will be seven preliminary matches slated to take place ahead of the tournament.
Four years ago, the preliminary contests were revealed ahead of the draw in an NBA style seeding system. As such the top ranked team without direct entry (Oman) played the lowest ranked team (Somalia) while the second best team (Lebanon) played the second weakest team (Djibouti) and so on.
It is unclear if FIFA will retain this system. Should they choose to do so this is what the preliminaries would look like:
Oman v Somalia
Bahrain v Djibouti
Syria v South Sudan
Palestine v Yemen
Comoros v Kuwait
Lebanon v Libya
Mauritania v Sudan
The Pots for the draw are as follows:
Pot 1: Qatar (hosts), Morocco, Egypt, Algeria
Pot 2: Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan
Pot 3: United Arab Emirates, TBD, TBD, TBD
Pot 4: TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD
Palestine is expected to be in Pot 4 if the same drawing mechanism is retained.
The play-in matches last time around were held in June but it is widely rumored that the preliminaries will be played in the last week of November this time around. Just like four years ago, all matches will be held in Qatar.
In spite of FIFA’s backing, this tournament does not fall on a FIFA day. Meaning that participation of players plying their trade outside the Arab world is not guaranteed.
Furthermore, the African sides with the exception of Somalia, Djibouti, South Sudan, Mauritania and Libya will be participating in the African Cup of Nations which kicks off three days after the conclusion of the Arab Cup.
As such, Palestine and other teams with legions of players based abroad are expected to send weakened teams to the tournament.
