Lausanne, Switzerland: FIFA on Thursday gave its support for a “pan-Arab” invitational international competition in Qatar in 2021 which will test facilities to be used in the World Cup the following year.
The tournament is scheduled for December 1-18, 2021.
In a statement, the governing body of world football described the tournament as “an invitational competition for men’s national teams that will be contested by Arab nations from Africa and Asia. It will involve home-based players only and be played outside the international match calendar.”
It will be run by the committee that is organising the Qatar World Cup the following year “and will allow the organisers to use facilities and run operations that are also planned for the subsequent FIFA World Cup.”
The number of teams was not been specified.
The competition proposal was presented to FIFA Council members via videoconference by Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and Chairman of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC (Q22).
The FIFA Council subsequently approved the formation of the competition.
The 22-team invitational tournament for men’s national teams will be contested by Arab nations from Africa and Asia. It will be played outside the International Match Calendar.
Recently, Qatar completed the FIFA World Cup 2022 Education City Stadium that will be marked open by hosting the Qatar Stars League match between Qatar Sports Club and Al Rayyan on July 24.
It will also mark the resumption of the league (Round 18) following a break since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Education City Stadium will play host to the remaining five rounds of QNB Stars League along with two other stadiums – Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium.
Al Thawadi had said last month that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has the potential to unite the globe once the COVID-19 pandemic has been defeated.
He outlined the SC’s response to COVID-19 and discussed tournament preparations during Leaders Week Direct – a global sports industry conference last month.
