"Experience to organize any tournament" - Jassim Abdulaziz Al-Jassim on how FIFA Arab Cup and U17 World Cup highlight Qatar's push to be 'capital of sports'

The 2025 FIFA Arab Cup and the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cups headline the FIFA football calendar later this year, with Qatar set to host both the tournaments.

The Arab Cup will be held from December 1-18 while the U17 World Cup, scheduled in November, will precede that.

With Qatar set to attract global footballing eyeballs, Jassim Abdulaziz Al-Jassim, CEO of the tournaments, is confident of delivering successful tournaments and elevating Qatar's profile as a 'sports capital'.

Apart from the next three editions of the FIFA Arab Cup and the next five FIFA U17 World Cups, Qatar have also lined up multiple other tournaments to be hosted by them, including the Basketball World Cup in 2027 and the Asian Games in 2030.

This is apart from tournaments like the Intercontinental Cup which Qatar hosted earlier.

All this comes on the backdrop of the hugely successful 2022 World Cup in Qatar which was a gamechanger iin terms of innovation and infrastructure.

When asked if hosting the FIFA U17 World Cup and FIFA Arab Cups are part of the country's push to be the 'capital of sports', Al-Jassim said,"It shows the alignment that we have in Qatar right now. So for sure, we are trying to increase the tourism for the country. And we have realized that sports tournaments and sports tourism is huge for us. We've already established that relationship with the fans. And also have the experience to organize any tournament.

"So next, in 2027, we have the Basketball World Cup. We have the Arab Cup for three editions until 2033. We have the U-17 for five years. And we're also working on bringing other tournaments as well. So for sure, sports tourism is one of the main targets for us as a country."

On why Qatar played a key role in increasing the prize money for the FIFA Arab Cup, Al-Jassim said, "This tournament is really, really important to us and to all the Arab nations and teams. So you need to have something that is also taking it to the same level. So that's where we came with the prize money that we have. We discussed it with FIFA and we increased. So it brings this kind of value to the tournament itself."

Al-Jassim also spoke about why Qatar were ready to host the next five editions of the FIFA U17 World Cup and how committed they are to developing the next generation of footballers.

"So the U-17 World Cup, I think it was every two years before. Now it's on a yearly basis to give more chance for the youth to shine and show and come here. So what we and FIFA together discussed was this was the best way to do it because it gives more chance for players to shine, to play more football, to play the best football. And also to increase it to 48 teams, similar to the World Cup in 2026.

Interestingly, the FIFA Arab Cup will see record prize money for a regional tournament. It was announced earlier this week that the total pool will amount to almost $36.9 million which is a signifcant rise from the 2021 edition.

The FIFA U17 World Cup, set to held annually for the next five years in Qatar, will also see a change in format, expanding it to 48 teams from 2025. The tournament, which will feature 104 matches, will be held exclusively at Qatar's Aspire Academy with only the final set to be held at the Khalifa Stadium in Doha.

"We have a new concept as well, the tournament is going to be played in Aspire Academy, except for the final which will be in Khalifa Stadium. So we will have more of a carnival festival kind of concept that all the matches are happening at the same place. Every half an hour you have a match starting. It's going to be a big huge festival where 104 matches are going to take place. We'll see how it goes this year. We are very, very confident that it will be a huge success," Al-Jassim added.

The immediate focus for Qatar and Jassim Abdulaziz Al-Jassim will be the final draw for the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup which is set to be held in Doha on Sunday, May 25.