{"id":7801,"date":"2026-07-19T12:05:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T12:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801"},"modified":"2026-07-19T12:05:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T12:05:32","slug":"world-cup-offers-war-weary-middle-east-a-welcome-diversion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801","title":{"rendered":"World Cup offers war-weary Middle East a welcome diversion"},"content":{"rendered":"

International soccer has provided flashes of pride and solidarity, and an antidote to everyday suffering.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Qatar was Messi\u2019s coronation. This World Cup is his masterpiece.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Fans celebrate in Cairo after Egypt defeats Australia on penalty kicks during the knockout stage of the World Cup on July 3. (Ismail Goma\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

BEIRUT \u2014 Under the shadow of war that hangs over the Middle East, this summer\u2019s World Cup has provided flashes of diversion, pride and solidarity.<\/p>\n

On the banks of the Tigris River in Baghdad, dozens of people gathered last month, amid the ongoing U.S. and Israeli war with neighboring Iran, at the Babylon Rotana Hotel to watch Iraq make its World Cup return for the first time in 40 years, to the sound of cheering and bubbling hookahs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have lived through wars, sanctions, occupation, terrorism and endless conflicts,\u201d said Hussein Mohammed, 45, a dentist who was a child when Iraq made its last World Cup appearance in 1986. \u201cThat\u2019s why Iraq\u2019s return to the World Cup is not just about football. It is a message that the country still exists and is capable of rising again.\u201d<\/p>\n

A record eight Arab teams \u2014 Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia \u2014 qualified for this year\u2019s World Cup in North America, alongside those of other Muslim-majority nations including Iran, Senegal and Uzbekistan. Despite none of these teams making it to the semifinals, for many in the Middle East, that was hardly the point, and the competition has served as an antidote to everyday suffering.<\/p>\n

Because of the time difference, watch parties have been nighttime affairs, with many gathering in hookah cafes.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Palestinians watch a live broadcast of the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt on July 7. (Abdel Kareem Hana\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The cafe has become a community hub where people gather to watch the games. To make sure the watch party runs smoothly, Arafat relies on a private generator connection to power the large-screen TV, but outages sometimes interrupt matches.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore the war, broadcasting football was simple,\u201d he said. Now, Arafat said he worries power cuts will break the TV and refrigerator, and \u201cevery day is about finding ways to keep the business running.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Israel-Gaza war has impoverished most of Gaza\u2019s population and cafes like Arafat\u2019s are a splurge for those who can still afford them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching football helps me forget the difficult reality here in Gaza, even if just for a while,\u201d said Mohammad Salman, 76, from Tel al-Hawa in Gaza City.<\/p>\n

Tareq Al-Jadba, 26, said he wished he could watch the matches from home but is unable to because of the electricity shortage. He ventures out to cafes when he can, weary of the \u201crisks of nearby strikes or sudden danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Israel, support for Argentina is widespread heading into the final. There\u2019s a political element: Argentine President Javier Milei is a strong supporter of Israel, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez is an outspoken critic.<\/p>

Read more For $50,000, they watched the whole World Cup in Times Square. Was it worth it?<\/a><\/p>\n

International politics also crept into the games in other ways this year. Iranians gathered at screenings to watch their national team compete in the first World Cup in which a host country was at war with a participant<\/a>. Iran\u2019s soccer federation complained about the team\u2019s treatment after it was made to stay in Mexico even after scheduled games in the United States.<\/p>\n

Algeria\u2019s team, on the other hand, received a warm welcome<\/a> in Lawrence, Kansas, that was praised by fans and in the Algerian media.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Lebanese and Egyptian spectators watch the Argentina-Egypt match on July 7. (Anwar Amro\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

In Lebanon, which has been reeling from months of war between Israel and Hezbollah that has left thousands of people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced, driving civil strife, people leave their political differences at the door while the games are on.<\/p>\n

Cheers can be heard across Beirut when major teams score followed by small victory motorcades in the streets.<\/p>\n

At one hookah cafe, Graciela Kair, 25, wrapped in a Brazilian flag, said she threw her support behind the country owing to her Lebanese-Venezuelan heritage: \u201cSince Venezuela and Brazil are neighbors, I have to be loyal and back the Brazilian team,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

William Dobson, a British pub owner in Beirut, said there\u2019s been less fervor around the World Cup compared to past cycles. \u201cI think the disruption from the war and the last three years in general has left an exhausted population,\u201d he said. Soccer \u201crecedes into the background in the face of sheer exhaustion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid the hostilities, inflation crept up and unemployment soared, government and United Nations figures show, forcing many to spend less on nights out.<\/p>\n

But when Egypt took the field against Argentina earlier this month, for patrons of Dobson\u2019s Black Sheep pub, all that faded away.<\/p>\n

At the same time, in Gaza, hundreds of fans who could not afford cafes watched the match outdoors between mountains of wreckage, hoisting Egyptian flags between buildings and piles of rubble.<\/p>\n

\u201cA football match concerning our brothers the Egyptians concerns us more than any other country,\u201d Arafat said.<\/p>\n

Even though no Arab team made it to the semifinals, for many fans like Saad Abdul Amir in Iraq, making it to the games is a victory in itself. \u201cWe are looking for a collective moment of pride \u2014 a moment that makes Iraqis feel they are part of the normal world again,\u201d he said.<\/p>

Read more Voters are struggling to keep up with Iran war\u2019s twists and turns<\/a><\/p>\n

Shamalakh reported <\/i>from<\/i> Cairo <\/i>and Salim from Baghdad.<\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

International soccer has provided flashes of pride and solidarity, and an antidote to everyday suffering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nWorld Cup offers war-weary Middle East a welcome diversion - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Cup offers war-weary Middle East a welcome diversion - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"International soccer has provided flashes of pride and solidarity, and an antidote to everyday suffering.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-19T12:05:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b8f47340695754bd42977a5ba20b0456-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"World Cup offers war-weary Middle East a welcome diversion\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-19T12:05:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801\"},\"wordCount\":952,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1a1c99e99fbb1cfcb170f3830ae49072-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801\",\"name\":\"World Cup offers war-weary Middle East a welcome diversion - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1a1c99e99fbb1cfcb170f3830ae49072-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-19T12:05:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1a1c99e99fbb1cfcb170f3830ae49072-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1a1c99e99fbb1cfcb170f3830ae49072-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7801#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"World Cup offers war-weary Middle East a welcome diversion\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving Insider USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"World Cup offers war-weary Middle East a welcome diversion - Moving Insider USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"World Cup offers war-weary Middle East a welcome diversion - Moving Insider USA","og_description":"International soccer has provided flashes of pride and solidarity, and an antidote to everyday suffering.","og_url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801","og_site_name":"Moving Insider USA","article_published_time":"2026-07-19T12:05:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b8f47340695754bd42977a5ba20b0456-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"headline":"World Cup offers war-weary Middle East a welcome diversion","datePublished":"2026-07-19T12:05:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801"},"wordCount":952,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1a1c99e99fbb1cfcb170f3830ae49072-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801","name":"World Cup offers war-weary Middle East a welcome diversion - Moving Insider USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1a1c99e99fbb1cfcb170f3830ae49072-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-19T12:05:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1a1c99e99fbb1cfcb170f3830ae49072-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1a1c99e99fbb1cfcb170f3830ae49072-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1706},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7801#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"World Cup offers war-weary Middle East a welcome diversion"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/","name":"Moving Insider USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}