By Qais Shqair*
Brazilian football is a favorite amongst football fans in most, if not all, Arab countries. Since the time of its most famous player, Pelé, Brazil is on top of the Arab list of favorites.
Undoubtedly the Brazilian football supremacy is acknowledged across all countries around the world, but the technical capacity and skill on the field are not the only reasons why we cheer for Brazil. This is because, as we’ve seen now in the World Cup, the matches mirror situations that go beyond football. Our feelings for a team often mix with our sympathies for its countries that have nothing to do with sports or football.
We often cheer for a team because it represents an emerging country in the football. On the other hand, the same goes for a team that represents an arrogant country that we associate with a projection of power that goes beyond the football stadiums. How often did people get together against a national football team because of its country’s stance on humanitarian issues? Or a racist stance? How many times do we remember, when watching a World Cup match, on that state’s role in a conflict here or a war there?
Cheering for Brazil, on the other hand, brings to memory our longstanding friendship. Brazil is a peaceful country like us, that has never colonized any other people but was colonized and fought for its independence with strength and energy. The Brazilian people show sympathy towards other peoples, have a soul that is as warm as the weather in the Mediterranean basin, and blends well with other cultures and peoples, which is shown in its proximity with the Arabs, despite the distance. Maybe the best example of this emotional closeness is the flux of our brothers and sisters from Lebanon, Syrian, Palestine and Arab Maghreb countries to Brazil over the decades, crossing oceans to establish as entrepreneurial, dynamic and passionate citizens.
Therefore, in the games, we aren’t just watching a ball being passed around between players in front of a fan crowd. We’re watching much more than that: We share the joy of the Brazilian people, as if it was our own national teams. We cheer and get thrilled like Brazilians when Neymar or Casemiro score a goal against the adversary. It’s like we’re part of one team, one heart!
The Brazilians’ joy is our joy, and we go hand in hand along the road this World Cup road towards victory.
*Ambassador Qais Shqairis is the head of the Arab League mission in Brazil
The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
