DOHA: The Local Organizing Committee of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021™ has announced that Khalifa International Stadium, one of the 2022 World Cup stadiums, and Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Sadd Sports Club, are ready to host the qualifying matches for the tournament set to organized by Qatar at the end of this year.

The event is sanctioned by the world governing body FIFA.

The qualifiers will witness seven matches from June 19-25, with one game per day at eight in the evening local time.

The seven qualified teams from the qualifying stage will join nine teams that qualified directly for the finals of the tournament after topping the list of Arab teams in the FIFA rankings, namely Qatar – the host country, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and Syria.

Match tickets are available on the Qatar Football Association (QFA) website. Fans wishing to watch the matches must be at least 12 years old, have received two doses of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine, or have recovered from infection in the last the nine months.

The Local Organizing Committee calls on fans to use public transportation, especially the Doha Metro, during match days.

Khalifa International Stadium will host the first qualifying matches for the FIFA Arab Cup and will bring together Libya and Sudan teams on June 19.

The stadium, located within the Aspire Zone Foundation, the centre of Qatar’s sports excellence, is 13 km from downtown Doha. The stadium witnessed comprehensive development work during which 12,000 seats were added to the stadium’s crowd capacity, a new facade, advanced lighting systems, in addition to the cooling technology that ensures a comfortable atmosphere for players and fans. The stadium reopened in May 2017 when it hosted the Amir’s Cup Final.

The stadium has a long history, hosting major sporting events such as the Asian Games, the Arabian Gulf Cup, the Asian Cup, the 2019 World Championships in Athletics, and matches in the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019™.

During the 2022 World Cup, the stadium will host matches from the group stage until the round of 16 and the third-place match. After the curtain falls on the 2022 World Cup, Khalifa International Stadium will continue its role as the national stadium of the State of Qatar.

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium

Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium will host three matches in the Arab Cup qualifiers, starting with a match between Oman and Somalia on June 20. The stadium was built in 1974 with an attendance capacity of 13,000 fans and was renovated in preparation for hosting the 2004 Arabian Gulf Cup. In addition, the stadium was used as the headquarters for the Qatar national team.

Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium has hosted many important matches, including the final stage of Group E competitions in the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup earlier this month.

It is noteworthy that the Arab Cup will represent an important phase in testing and evaluating Qatar’s readiness to host the first edition of the World Cup in the Arab world and the Middle East next year and will contribute to introducing the whole world to the culture, customs and traditions of the Arab region.

Here is the full match schedule:
June 19 (8 PM kick-off) – Libya v Sudan – Khalifa International Stadium
June 20 (8 PM kick-off) – Oman v Somalia – Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
June 21 (8 PM kick-off) – Jordan v South Sudan – Khalifa International Stadium
June 22 (8 PM kick-off) – Mauritania v Yemen – Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
June 23 (8 PM kick-off) – Lebanon v Djibouti – Khalifa International Stadium
24 June (8 PM kick-off) – Palestine v Comoros – Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
June 25 (8 PM kick-off) – Bahrain v Kuwait – Khalifa International Stadium