World Cup Ignites Glimmers of Arab Unity—Sport as a Pan-Arab Healer?
By: John Mason / Arab America Contributing Writer
Arabs worldwide began early in the World Cup to celebrate Arab team victories. In one case, at Mariam’s Café in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York, clients were celebrating Morocco’s national team’s success in making it to the World Cup quarter-finals. Now Morocco will play France in the semi-finals. Arab unity may be an elusive consequence of the many moments of joy and pride derived from excellence on the playing field.
Arabs around the World—including Long Island, N.Y.—Celebrate Arab Team Victories
As the action of the World Cup advanced, Arabs worldwide began to celebrate Arab team victories. At Mariam’s Café in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York, it was especially Morocco’s national team success in making it to the World Cup quarter-finals that were commemorated. As a Patch news source put it, “Arab and Middle Eastern people all over the world have been celebrating Morocco’s historic World Cup run and Long Island is no exception.”
The Moroccan team is the first Arab and African country ever to make it to the quarterfinals of a World Cup. And now the semi-finals. Its surprise victory over more highly favored Spain drew a flood of joyful support from North Africans and Arabs from many different countries.
Again, from Patch, “In Farmingdale at Mariam’s Cafe, a halal fusion restaurant serving American, Moroccan, Middle Eastern, Italian and Spanish cuisine, the owners didn’t even have time to plan a big watch party.” Further, “There are a lot of Moroccans and Middle Easterners on the island supporting the Moroccan national team in the World Cup.” Mariam’s will continue to honor the Moroccan team with a 30 percent off sale on their Moroccan catering menu.
Qatar World Cup Unifies Arab States for a Rare Sporting Moment
“A smiling ghost came up through the floor. La’eeb, the mascot of this year’s World Cup, in Qatar, is a bodiless figure in a thobe, the white gown favored by the men of the Arabian Peninsula. He materialized during the tournament’s opening ceremony.” This is how the New Yorker Magazine characterized the beginning of this world-class soccer (football) tournament. “La’eeb wafted across a spotlighted plain populated by previous mascots, going all the way back to World Cup Willie, a Teddy-bear lion used by England fourteen tournaments ago.”
The opening ceremony at the Qatar World Cup was hosted by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Alongside him were FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Western nations criticized Qatar over its form of government, its treatment of immigrant laborers who built the seven stadiums, and its human rights practices. The fact that Budweiser beer, a major sponsor of the Cup, was at the last moment banned from the stadium was only a minor irritation.
However, getting less attention was Qatar’s successful construction of the highly modern infrastructure of the Cup. The Financial Times put the Western criticism of Qatar into context: “But what in the Gulf has been seen as western hectoring has also turned the football tournament into a rare thing in the Arab world: a source of regional unity.
The Times quoted a Saudi government employee attending the Cup, who said, “It feels nice to see an Arab country host.” He was overjoyed by Saudi’s win over two-time World Cup winners Argentina. “I’m proud for sure…we are stable, prosperous monarchies [that] organize world-class events, compete with the best and have the best of everything.” Even though Qatar’s team did poorly on the field, Arab fans could claim that Saudi Arabia’s win and Morocco’s victories over Belgium, Spain, and Portugal were spectacular gains, showing that Arabs can win.
World Cup-spurred Arab Unity may be Illusive but for Now, it Works
Arab unity has been hard to achieve and is usually hard to come by and ephemeral once it arrives. Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup, however, has brought about a moment when Arabs have come together to support one another. They also supported Qatar itself, which is not always seen in a good light.
The first sign of unity occurred when the Saudi team took to the field. As The Times of Israel reported, “For a brief moment after Saudi Arabia’s Salem Aldawsari fired a ball from just inside the penalty box into the back of the net to seal a World Cup win against Argentina, Arabs across the divided Middle East found something to celebrate.” Aldawsari added to the joy with a cartwheel and a flip.
“The Saudis played like giants after that,” The New Yorker reported. “Hassan al-Tambakti, a young defender from Riyadh, celebrated his tackles like goals. Mohammed Kanno, a tall, leggy midfielder, shadowed Messi everywhere he went. When the Argentinean fans, who came to Qatar in great numbers, tried to rouse their team, the Saudi fans waved their hands and whistled, to show that they were not scared.” The ruler of Dubai who witnessed that win celebrated Qatar’s hosting of the tournament as “a milestone for all Arabs.”
Morocco will play France in the semi-finals—should we say it again? Morocco will play France in the semi-finals—on Wednesday the 14th. Just after Arab America shows up on the web. We wait with bated breath for the outcome. In any case, Arabs from everywhere, whatever their geographic origin, religious preference, Arabic dialect, cultural distinction, gender, or dress—they’ve all been united to support the winning Arab World Cup teams.
The Qataris have done well in providing the venue for what has been a series of mostly well-played matches, from game 1 to the final match. Arab unity may be an elusive consequence of the many moments of joy and pride derived from excellence on the playing field. And then, there’s always the expectation for the next Arab team match, long after Qatar’s stadiums have emptied for the last time.
Sources:
“Arab World Cup Fans on LI (Long Island) Get Ready for Historic Match Saturday,” Patch, 12/9/2022
“Qatar World Cup provides a rare source of unity to Arab states,” Financial Times, 11/28/2022
“World Cup sparks flashes of Arab unity after years of discord,” The Times of Israel, 11/26/2022
“At Qatar’s World Cup, Where Politics and Pleasure Collide: The first ten days where soccer as it is, rather than as you want it to be,” Sam Knight, New Yorker Magazine, 12/12/2022
John Mason, PhD., who focuses on Arab culture, society, and history, is the author of LEFT-HANDED IN AN ISLAMIC WORLD: An Anthropologist’s Journey into the Middle East, New Academia Publishing, 2017. He has taught at the University of Libya, Benghazi, Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and the American University in Cairo; John served with the United Nations in Tripoli, Libya, and consulted extensively on socioeconomic and political development for USAID and the World Bank in 65 countries.
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