1963 Arab Cup

1963 Arab Cup
Tournament details
Host countryLebanon
Dates31 March – 7 April
Teams5 (from 2 confederations)
Venue1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Tunisia (1st title)
Runners-up Syria
Third place Lebanon
Fourth place Kuwait
Tournament statistics
Matches played10
Goals scored40 (4 per match)
Top scorer(s) Levon Altounian
(6 goals)
1964

The 1963 Arab Cup was the first edition of the Arab Cup hosted in Beirut, Lebanon. Tunisia won the first title of the Arab Cup.

Participating teams

Five teams took part in the tournament: the hosts Lebanon along with Jordan, Kuwait, Syria and Tunisia. Five other teams were invited but did not participate in the tournament: Morocco who initially agreed to take part but later withdrew, Libya who apologized for not participating as they were not yet a FIFA member, United Arab Republic and Sudan who declined the invitation, and Iraq who refused to participate due to Kuwait's presence in the tournament as the Iraqi government did not recognize Kuwait's independence at the time and claimed it as part of its territory.[1]

The 5 participating teams were:

Team Qualified as
 Lebanon Hosts
 Jordan Invitee
 Kuwait Invitee
 Syria Invitee
 Tunisia Invitee

Venues

Beirut
Camille Chamoun Stadium
Capacity: 45,000

Squads

Final tournament

Tournament classification

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Tunisia 4 4 0 0 11 1 +10 8 Champions
2  Syria 4 3 0 1 11 3 +8 6
3  Lebanon 4 2 0 2 13 4 +9 4
4  Kuwait 4 1 0 3 5 15 −10 2
5  Jordan 4 0 0 4 0 17 −17 0
Source: RSSSF

Matches

Syria 4–0 Jordan
  • Kavlakian 22', 70'
  • Haroutioun 65'
  • Hajjar 68'
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Atef Sinane (Lebanon)
Lebanon 6–0 Kuwait
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Muvahhit Afir (Turkey)

Kuwait 4–0 Jordan
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Sarkis Demirdjian (Lebanon)
Tunisia 1–0 Syria
  • Ben Amor 20'
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Muvahhit Afir (Turkey)

Lebanon 2–3 Syria
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Muvahhit Afir (Turkey)
Tunisia 4–0 Jordan
  • Haddad 1', 6'
  • Jedidi 26'
  • Henia 34'
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Atef Sinane (Lebanon)

Tunisia 5–1 Kuwait
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Khatchadour Boyadjian (Lebanon)
Lebanon 5–0 Jordan
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Muvahhit Afir (Turkey)

Syria 4–0 Kuwait
  • Betraki 30' (pen.)
  • Haroutioun 64'
  • Chayeb 74'
  • Kavlakian 84'
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Atef Sinane (Lebanon)

Lebanon v Tunisia match

The game was the decisive match of group stage at the 1963 Arab Cup. The match was played at Camille Chamoun Stadium in Beirut on 7 April 1963. The winner was determined by a final group stage, with the final five teams playing in round-robin format, instead of a knockout stage.[2] Tunisia won the tournament finishing first in the final standing.[3]

Match details
Lebanon 0−1 Tunisia
Report
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Muvahhit Afir (Turkey)
Lebanon
Tunisia
Lebanon:
GK 1 Samih Chatila
DF 5 Youssef Yammouth
DF 12 Samik Sabkadjian
DF 2 Muhieddine "Tabello" Itani  15'
DF 13 Elias "Kharma" Georges
MF 6 Ahmad Alameh
MF 7 Robert "Roro" Chehadeh
MF 10 Mardik Tchaparian
FW 16 Levon Altounian (c)
FW 4 Joseph Abou Murad
FW 15 Mahmoud "Abou Taleb" Berjaoui
Substitutes:
DF 19 Camille Haidar  15'
Manager:
Joseph Nalbandian
Tunisia:
GK 1 Abdelkader "Zerga" Ghalem
DF 2 Mohsen Keffala
DF 6 Mohsen Habacha
DF 4 Ahmed Sghaïer
DF 16 Mahfoudh Benzarti
MF 9 Taoufik Ben Othman
MF 12 Mongi Haddad
MF 10 Abdelmajid Chetali (c)
FW 17 Alaya Sassi
FW 8 Mohamed Salah Jedidi
FW 11 Hammadi Henia
Substitutes:
DF 3 Hédi Douiri
Manager:
André Gérard
 1963 Arab Cup winners 

Tunisia

First title

Goalscorers

There were 40 goals scored in 10 matches, for an average of 4 goals per match.

6 goals

4 goals

  • Avedis Kavlakian

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

References

  1. ^ "Iraq not to participate in "Arab Cup" contest"". The Iraq Times. 17 January 1963.
  2. ^ "لبنان أوّل مستضيف لكأس العرب 1963". Nida Al-Watan. 30 July 2019.
  3. ^ "FIFA Arab Cup Qatar draw to be held on Tuesday". Gulf Times. 26 April 2021.