The magic of the World Cup overshadowed the bitter pain of the war in Yemen

The impact of war receded before the magic of the FIFA World Cup, and signs of joy emerged in Yemen, making sport a rare case of happiness that overshadowed the pain of bitter conflict.

Yemeni cities, in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, set up giant screens in squares and main streets to watch the final matches held in Qatar, which contributed to Yemenis forgetting, albeit temporarily, the consequences and tragedies of the conflict in their country.
The war of eight years ago.

Yemenis turned their squares, streets and homes into mini-clubs for the most famous championship in the world, with official and popular initiatives in the capital Sanaa and other Yemeni provinces.

Despite the absence of the Yemeni national team from the tournament, the World Cup has captured the minds and hearts of millions of Yemenis who eagerly await it every season, but this season it is even more so thanks to last year’s victory of the Yemeni youth national team.

Yemen is ranked 155th in FIFA’s rankings out of 211 countries, and has never reached a World Cup final.

Transcend suffering

At a time when a Yemeni is looking for tickets to travel for treatment outside his country due to the years-long blockade imposed on him by Saudi aggression, and in light of the unjust isolation, the scene of the World Cup this year in Qatar at the top, and he brought the World Cup to his country as that Doha is Sanaa.

Undersecretary of the youth sector in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Abdullah Al-Razhi says For Al-Mayadeen Net: “The official side has prepared early for the global sports event. The ministry has taken the initiative to prepare 50 viewing venues and set up giant screens in 15 provinces to watch free live streaming of all championship matches.”

Al-Razhi added: “We, at the Ministry of Youth, wanted to facilitate the access of young people, athletes and sports followers from all members of society to the opportunity to watch the World Cup competitions in Qatar 2022. It is the right of a Yemeni citizen to follow all sports activities, and especially World Cup competitions, and to overcome the suffering caused by aggression.” And the siege that eight years ago was imposed by the aggressor coalition, which targeted all the capabilities of Yemen, destroyed sports and youth facilities, and tried to disrupt public life.

The deputy director of the Youth and Sports Office in the capital Sana’a, which is responsible for the distribution of screens, Captain Muhammad Abu Askar, confirms Al-Mayadeen Net The Ministry distributed huge screens in every hall of Al-Ahly Sana’a Club, May 22 Club, Al-Orouba Club, Sana’a People’s Club, Sana’a Unity Club, Al-Dharafi Stadium and in the open-air theater in Old Sana’a. and Liquid, and in front of the Al-Wahda police station in the Shu’ub district and Shumaila Square in the Seventy district.

The private side participates in equipping the official side of the World Cup, as the owners of electronic shops, cafes, food shops, shopping centers, hotels and theaters have equipped their shops and tools to broadcast matches for free or for a small fee.

Abu Askar says For Al-Mayadeen Net: “The number of small-fee private toilets monitored by the Ministry of Youth and Sports is close to 80. Hayel Saeed Anam Company has provided three huge screens and Twiceher Marketing and Advertising Company has provided two huge screens.”

Yemeni stars

On the first day of the World Cup in Qatar, the Yemeni Abdul-Raqeeb Halboub Al-Yafei took first place on social networks under the hashtag mathematical computer, and called it the Historical Sports Encyclopedia. And “google” the World Cup, and it has become an Arab trend, because sports information about the World Cup from its beginning, and about its players, referees and places of residence, is being saved.

Numerous models and big stars emerged as well, such as the percussionist Malatfi Hamidi, who was hosted by Qatar as an ambassador of Yemen on the list of Arab culture and among the elite of world stars, especially the Arab world, and he used his presence in Qatar to present Yemeni art, heritage, customs and tradition. What is remarkable is his constant wearing of Yemeni dress.

On the artistic side, the song “Light The Sky”, one of the sanctioned songs of the World Cup, featuring Yemeni artist Balqis Ahmed Fathi, was presented, and it celebrates the women referees who will participate in officiating the World Match Cup.

Two brothers, Captain Ammar and Amr Al-Ansi, embarked on their journey on October 10 last year, which lasted more than a month, after cycling long distances to reach the Qatari capital of Doha and participate in Language people and standardize it,like that he says Captain Ammar Anne, Where wedding spherical Great represented in World Cup.

Yemeni sculptor and painter, Yacoub Habshan, has a unique way of sharing his World Cup joy with the world, as he carved and painted a replica of the World Cup out of solid tamarisk wood.

Carving the World Cup from a tree trunk
Full video on YouTube#worldcup #FIFA #Diameter #Jakov_Habashan #worldcup #svektififakup #worldcup #Diameter #Qatar2022_is waiting for you🇶🇦👌 #Qatar2022 #catarrh #worldcup #beinsports #Arab _ painters #Plastic _ artist _ Habshan #Jakov_Habashan@FIFA @JSCkanali pic.twitter.com/IPIEQyIKma

– Painter Yagoob Habshan_Yagoob Habshan (@yagoobhabshan) September 14, 2022

Habshan says that the idea is not born today, “he carved the Gulf Cup, the Arab Cup and other cups, and in parallel with the World Cup in Qatar, this idea was presented, which lasted four months, with traditional tools and simple possibilities. “

The presence of the Palestinian cause

From the first hours of the start of the World Cup, the issue of Palestine imposed a strong presence in the stands and the celebration that followed the World Cup, which is being organized for the first time in the Middle East, on the Palestinians.

International relations consultant, Hashem Abdel Malik says, For Al-Mayadeen Net: The shocking reality that the Zionist rulers were exposed to at the world championship in Qatar put Israel in front of a very painful reality, which is that the Arab society does not accept the Zionists, and the state called Israel does not exist.

Abdul Malik confirms that the widespread popular condemnation of normalization was welcomed and supported by Yemeni society, and that it dominated the scenes and results of the match. And what the correspondents of the Hebrew channels were subjected to in terms of rejection, non-acceptance and violence from Arab and foreign fans, the Yemeni society communicated positively and boasted about it through their media on social networks.

In the same context, an Arab campaign was launched on Twitter with the hashtags #Palestinian_Dream and the hashtag #Why_No, inviting Arab fans in Qatar to come to matches and events with the Palestinian flag, especially in the stands.