Union of Arab Football Associations

The Union of Arab Football Associations, commonly known as UAFA, is the regional governing body for football within the Arab League. It brings together 22 national football associations, including 12 associations affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation and 10 affiliated with the Confederation of African Football. The organization functions as an independent regional football body rather than as a national federation or a commercial sports brand. UAFA was established on 27 January 1974 in Tripoli, Libya. Its creation provided Arab football associations with a dedicated institution for regional coordination, competition organization, and football development across the Arab world. In 1976, a general assembly held in Damascus, Syria, transferred the organization’s headquarters to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which remains its principal seat. The organization’s best-known competitions have historically included the Arab Cup for national teams and the Arab Club Champions Cup for clubs. These tournaments provide regional competition outside the regular calendars of the AFC and CAF and serve as platforms for national teams and clubs from Arab countries to meet. UAFA competitions have also contributed to the visibility of football across the Arab world and to sporting connections between associations located in North Africa, the Middle East, and other Arab regions. The Arab Cup is the organization’s most prominent national-team competition. Since 2021, FIFA has organized the tournament, changing the institutional relationship between the competition and its historical regional organizer. UAFA nevertheless remains associated with the tournament’s broader regional football tradition. At club level, UAFA has organized prominent Arab championship competitions, including the Arab Club Champions Cup, which has brought together leading clubs from member associations. UAFA’s membership reflects the geographic and institutional diversity of Arab football. Its Asian members are also members of the West Asian Football Federation, while the members of the West Asian and North African regional football structures are represented within UAFA. This overlapping membership connects UAFA with the wider football systems administered by AFC and CAF without making it a subdivision of either confederation. The organization’s role is primarily representative, regulatory, and competition-focused. Its activities center on cooperation among member associations, the administration or sponsorship of regional tournaments, and the promotion of football relationships among Arab countries. Unlike a club or consumer-facing sports company, UAFA does not sell a conventional product portfolio. Its principal offerings are sporting competitions, institutional coordination, and regional football development. Information about its current officeholders, commercial finances, and detailed operational structure is not established in the supplied reference material.

The Union of Arab Football Associations was established on 27 January 1974 in Tripoli, Libya. Its formation created a dedicated regional institution for football associations from Arab countries, spanning members in both Africa and Asia. The organization was designed to support cooperation among Arab football authorities and to provide a framework for competitions that crossed the boundaries of the continental confederations. A general assembly held in Damascus, Syria, in 1976 resulted in the transfer of UAFA’s headquarters to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has remained the organization’s principal seat. The move placed the administrative center in one of the Arab world’s major football markets and established Saudi Arabia as the institutional base for the regional body. UAFA developed a membership structure comprising 22 national football associations. Twelve members are located within the Asian Football Confederation and ten within the Confederation of African Football. The organization therefore operates across two continental football systems. Its membership also overlaps with other regional structures: all UAFA members belonging to AFC are members of the West Asian Football Federation, while the members of the West Asian and North African regional groupings are represented within UAFA. The organization’s public profile has been shaped mainly by its competitions. The Arab Cup for national teams became its most recognizable tournament, offering national sides from Arab countries a regional championship setting. UAFA also organized club competitions, most notably the Arab Club Champions Cup, bringing prominent clubs together from across its membership. These tournaments have served both sporting and representational purposes by creating regular encounters among associations with different continental affiliations. From 2021, FIFA organized the Arab Cup. This marked an important change in the administration of the tournament and placed the competition within FIFA’s event framework. The change did not eliminate the historical importance of UAFA’s role in establishing and promoting Arab regional football competitions, but it did alter the relationship between the organization and its best-known national-team event. UAFA is best understood as a football governing and coordinating institution rather than a conventional commercial brand. Its central activities are the organization of regional championships, representation of Arab football interests, and cooperation among member associations. The supplied reference material does not establish a complete list of officeholders, detailed financial information, or a comprehensive account of all competitions administered over time. Those areas require additional verification from official UAFA records or authoritative football archives.

• 2021

  FIFA assumed organization of the Arab Cup

  [1]Union of Arab Football Associationsen.wikipedia.org

  FIFA began organizing the Arab Cup, a tournament historically associated with UAFA.

• 1976

  Headquarters moved to Riyadh

  [1]Union of Arab Football Associationsen.wikipedia.org

  A general assembly in Damascus transferred the organization’s headquarters to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

• 1974

  UAFA founded in Tripoli

  [1]Union of Arab Football Associationsen.wikipedia.org

  The Union of Arab Football Associations was established on 27 January 1974 in Tripoli, Libya.

An independent regional football governing body connecting national associations and organizing major competitions across the Arab football community.

• National-team football competition

  Arab Cup

  The Arab Cup is UAFA’s best-known national-team competition. It brings together representative teams from Arab football associations and has historically provided a regional championship platform across the Arab world. FIFA has organized the tournament since 2021, changing the event’s administrative framework while retaining its place in the Arab football calendar.

• Club football competition

  Arab Club Champions Cup

  The Arab Club Champions Cup is a major UAFA club competition for leading teams from Arab football associations. It is intended to create high-level regional fixtures among clubs from both African and Asian parts of the Arab football community and represents one of the organization’s principal club-event offerings.

• 2021

  Transfer of Arab Cup organization to FIFAStrategy

  Background

  The Arab Cup had historically been associated with UAFA as the regional football body for Arab associations.

  Action taken

  FIFA began organizing the Arab Cup from 2021.

  Aftermath

  The tournament entered a FIFA-organized format, while UAFA remained the historical regional institution associated with the competition.

  Source

1. 1Union of Arab Football Associationsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Union of Arab Football Associations official websiteuafa-ac.com