Qatar hosted the inaugural edition of the renamed FIFA Arab Cup in 2021.
FIFA has announced that Qatar will host three more editions of the Arab Cup, in 2025, 2029 and 2033.
The announcement came during the FIFA Council meeting ahead of the 74th FIFA Congress in Thailand.
“At the request of the Qatar Football Association, Qatar will host the tournament in 2025, 2029 and 2033, which will follow the principle of an invitational competition not included in the International Match Calendar,” announced FIFA.
In the statement, the slot allocations for the five editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup that will be held annually in Qatar from 2025 to 2029 were also clarified. The slots confirmed include AFC: 9, CAF: 10, Concacaf: 8, CONMEBOL: 7, OFC: 3, UEFA 11.
Qatar hosted the inaugural edition of the renamed FIFA Arab Cup in 2021, a year before hosting the first-ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and the Arab World.
Following the 2021 final, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that the football governing body would continue to oversee future editions.
Meanwhile, members from FIFA’s 211 member countries will vote on the Palestinian Football Association’s proposal to expel the Israel Football Association (IFA) amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Also in the upcoming 74th annual FIFA congress in Bangkok, member nations will vote on several key issues including confirmation of the host country of the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
The PFA said they want to “address the unprecedented international human rights and humanitarian law violations committed by Israel” and urged FIFA to push the IFA to address the discrimination and racism within the team and acknowledge violations of the federation’s statutes.
Article 4 of FIFA’s statutes prohibits “discrimination of any kind against a country or group of people.” It also stipulates that any breach of this non-discrimination obligation is punishable by “suspension or expulsion”.
PFA noted that the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza killed at least 99 Palestinian footballers out of 166 athletes while causing an unprecedented level of destruction to civilian buildings and facilities.
PFA also recorded violations against its athletes in the West Bank, where Israeli occupation forces arrested eight of its players. Since the start of the war, Israel has destroyed 28 sports facilities, including 22 in Gaza and six in the West Bank, according to PFA.
The facilities in Gaza include the iconic Yarmouk Stadium, one of the oldest in Palestine.
In December, the occupation forces turned the stadium into a detention centre where dozens of Palestinians were rounded up and humiliated.
