Al Thumama Stadium fans celebrated in a crazy way with Al Annabi players after they qualified for the Asian Cup final (Getty)

Al-Thumama -

“This joy is our right. An Arab final was our dream. Al-Anabi’s victory made our hearts happy, and our support is the least duty and a return of gratitude.” Phrases echoed during a celebration by Arab fans of the Qatar national team’s qualification to meet its Jordanian brother in an all-Arab final for the Asian Cup, which will be held next Saturday at Lusail Stadium. Which hosted the final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

The Qatari and Arab fans, present at Al Thumama Stadium, celebrated crazy in the stands, and reacted to Akram Afif’s call and the shouts of the Annabi players.

“Shiloha, Shila, win tonight.” With this chant, the Qatari fans in the stands began to celebrate the winning goal scored in the last minutes over Iran (3-2). These celebrations did not stop until after the final whistle, and continued for nearly an hour, as the fans in the stands chanted the names of the players, and interacted. With the song “Shumi Lah”, the icon of the historic victory in the first Asian title 4 years ago.

Next Saturday's final between Qatar and Jordan will be the third purely Arab final in the history of the continental championship, after the 1996 editions between Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, and the 2007 editions between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Arabic delight

Jordanian fan Muhammad Abu Hammoud did not know that his move 3 years ago to work and residence in the State of Qatar would lead to him attending the best organized and popular edition of the Asian Championship, and witnessing the most prominent continental achievement of Jordanian football.

30 days were enough to fulfill the dream of Abu Hammoud and the Jordanian football fans of seeing their country’s national team meet its Qatari brother in the final, so that there would be Arab joy over the title, regardless of who was crowned.

Abu Hammoud: My support and support for Al-Annabi is the least duty to the country in which I have been working and residing for years (Al-Jazeera)

Abu Hammoud (46 years old) told Al Jazeera Net that he attended all the matches of his country, Jordan, and encouraged all the Arab teams during their matches in the tournament, and he hoped that the final match would be purely Arab.

He added that he attended more than one Qatar national team match in the tournament, and that his keenness to support him and Al Annabi is the least of his duties to the country in which he and his family have been working and residing for years.

He continued, "I did not dream of my country being in the final, and I came to support Qatar in the match against Iran in order to qualify. Thank God, my dream of an Arab final came true and became a reality" on the ground of Lusail Stadium.

Support Qatar

In turn, Sudanese fan Mohamed Al-Badri believes that Qatar's victory over Iran, and its qualification to meet Jordan in the Asian Cup final, increased the joys of Arab football and made the final an Arab football wedding par excellence.

Al-Badri, who attended with his family, told Al Jazeera Net that Qatar is his second country, and its advantages to it are many, and that the Arabs have the right to the joy of seeing two Arab teams in the final of the Asian Championship, especially since it is being held on Arab land.

Al-Badri: I will strive to attend the final to support Arab football and joy because everyone will emerge victorious (Al-Jazeera)

He added that the victory of Qatar and Jordan and their qualification to the Asian final made all Arabs happy, especially since the final was between two brothers, and the title would be Arab and the joy would be Arab as well.

He continued, "I have lived in Doha for 15 years, and my children were born and raised here, so I did not hesitate to come and support Qatar, and I will strive to attend the final to support Arab football and joy, because everyone will emerge victorious regardless of the result of the match."

He deserved to win

As for Egyptian Ahmed Ismail (27 years old), who has lived his whole life in Qatar, he also attended to support and support Qatar in its victory over Iran, considering that the most beautiful thing that happened in the Asian Championship was the purely Arab final between Qatar and Jordan.

Ismail told Al Jazeera Net that the Qatar national team deserved to win against all expectations, and the support of the fans in the stands, and the players presented high technical levels, fought for every ball, and did their best, which helped them achieve the victory.

Ismail: Qatar deserved to beat Iran and qualify for the final (Al Jazeera)

He added that he enjoyed very much attending the match and supporting the Qatar national team, especially since this was not the first time, as he attended many matches for the Qatar national team and supported it during the World Cup matches as well.

While Mauritanian Sidi Mohamed believes that his presence to support and assist the Qatari national team against Iran is a natural matter, especially since we are “Arabs and brothers, and it is our duty to support each other.”

Sidi Muhammad told Al Jazeera Net that Qatar is his second country, and that he has been residing there for 6 years, as he considers himself in his country, which is what made him follow all the matches of the Qatar national team and support it.

He adds that the joy of Qatar's victory over Iran is two joys, the first is the joy of Qatar's victory and qualification to the final, and the second is the presence of two Arab teams in the final match.

Arabism and brotherhood

While only 7 months of residence in Qatar were enough for the Sudanese friend of Salah to feel that he was in his second country, and to support and assist the Qatari national team in its match with Iran.

A friend told Al Jazeera Net that his presence to support and encourage the Qatar national team "is a support for the Arabism and brotherhood that has united us since ancient times, and I was happy to attend this match and live the atmosphere of this joy with the Qatari and Arab fans from various communities in Doha."

Aw, Burgundy 🗣️🇶🇦#AsiaCup2023 | #Come onAsia | #Iran_Qatar pic.twitter.com/HzNU5F6Hcd

- #AsiaCup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 7, 2024

He stresses that he seeks to attend the final match between Qatar and Jordan, especially since it will be a purely Arab final, and we hope that he will come out in a way befitting the Arabs and the beautiful Arab football, and that everyone will come out of it happy, regardless of the winner and the loser.

Passion and love of football

The celebrations of the Qatari masses that supported their country's national team were no less joyful than the Arab masses, which was explained by sports analyst Mohammed Al-Muhannadi by saying that the Qatari sporting achievements during the recent period, whether winning the 2019 Asian Cup title or organizing the World Cup, strengthened the fans' relationship with their country's national team.

Al-Muhannadi told Al-Jazeera Net that winning the Asian title 4 years ago increased the popularity of football among Qataris, and the World Cup made Qataris more passionate and passionate about football.

He adds that Arab football has imposed itself strongly in the current edition of the Asian Championship, and the qualification of Qatar and Jordan is the greatest evidence of that, pointing out that teams such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and Palestine presented high technical levels in the first and knockout rounds and emerged with their heads held high.

Source: Al Jazeera