23 years ago, the Qatari capital, Doha, witnessed an exciting record in the history of the Arab Football Cup, with the participation of 12 teams for the first and only time in the history of the tournament.
Now, Doha is preparing for a new record in the number of participants, with the number of teams competing in the 2021 edition, approved by the International Football Association (FIFA), to reach 16 teams.
The "World Cup" version of the Arab Cup
The activities of this expected "World Cup" edition of the Arab Cup will start on Tuesday, with the participation of 16 Arab teams, including 10 Asian teams and 6 African teams, to meet the largest number of teams in one edition of the Arab Cup.
The 1998 edition, which was also hosted by Qatar, witnessed the largest number of teams in one edition of the Arab Cup before the 2021 edition, in which 12 teams participated, while the largest number of other teams in one edition was 11 in the 2002 edition in Saudi Arabia, and 10 teams in each From my copies 1966 in Iraq and 1988 in Jordan.
The following list shows the number of teams participating in the previous nine editions of the tournament, and the host country:
1963 Lebanon = 5 teams
1964 Kuwait = 5 teams
1966 Iraq = 10 teams
1985 Saudi Arabia = 6 teams
1988 Jordan = 10 teams
1992 Syria = 6 teams
1998 Qatar = 12 teams
2002 Kuwait = 10 teams
2012 Saudi Arabia = 11 teams