The 2021 FIFA Arab cup is the first ever competition for Arab countries hosted by FIFA. It was set to be a 16-team tournament with a qualifying stage between 12 countries to determine 6 teams to join the 10 best ranked Arab teams. Lebanon was set to participate in the qualifiers to secure its place.
According to Bassil Mikdadi, this format is set to change. The qualifying process will be cancelled (as it was not mentioned in Gianni Infatino’s letter to Francis Paul, president of the South Sudan FA), and all teams will participate in the 2021 Arab Cup. Therefore, Lebanon guaranteed his place in the tournament.
An invitation has been sent to South Sudan to also participate in this tournament but it’s still unclear if a 24th team will also join. According to the letter, updates about the schedule and format will be recently shared by FIFA.
