Can World Cup soccer help heal Gulf wounds?
Communities torn apart by a yearslong rift between Gulf rulers may need time to heal the wounds of a crisis that damaged social ties that have historically transcended borders.
Soccer has played a central role in creating “strong relations” among the citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations ever since the first Gulf Cup took place in Bahrain in 1970, Saudi soccer journalist Atef Nahass told Al-Monitor.
In recent times, the world's most popular sport had been a “unique platform of exchange” throughout a 3½-year spat that positioned Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt opposite Qatar, according to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“Soccer is what keeps us, supporters, together at all times. Once we start talking about soccer, then we end up talking about education, life, everything. It is like a starting point,” Al-Hilal Saudi soccer club’s supporter Bassam Al Tasan told Al-Monitor.
Yet although soccer brings communities together, it can inversely crystallize social and political pre-existing tensions. The UAE-Qatar rivalry was on display during the 2019 Asian Cup as Emirati supporters threw shoes at Qatari players, a sign of disrespect in Middle Eastern culture. Tasan wishes such an offense will never happen again.
