FIFA's Arab Cup kicks off in Qatar on Tuesday

The first ever FIFA Arab Cup kicks off in Qatar on Tuesday.

The competition is seen as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, which will take place in the Emirates in a year's time.

It will pit the best teams in the Arab world against each other until the grand final on 18 December.

Six African teams are in the running, the African champions Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania as well as Egypt and Sudan. They will playing against another 10 national teams from the Middle East.

It's also an opportunity to discover the brand new stadiums built in Doha to host the next World Cup.

From a sports point of view, the competition promises to be interesting even outside the FIFA dates.

There will be no players from European clubs, but some stars from the African continent will be present, such as Algeria'sc Baghdad Bounedjah, Youcef Belaili and Yacine Brahimi.

Egypt will rely on the backbone of African club champions Al Ahly, while Morocco can count on the best player of the last CHAN, Sofiane Rahimi.

Qatar will open the tournament on Tuesday evening against Bahrain, while Tunisia, the tournament's top-ranked nation in the FIFA rankings, will take on the Mauritanian Mourabitounes.