Yemenis open up about the Gulf Cup

Yemenis had high hopes before the Gulf Cup.

Billions of rials spent, a home field advantage, and hours of practice made some sure their team would make them proud. Football fans were in shock when Yemen was the first team eliminated, after scoring just one goal in the entire tournament.  Yemenis opened up to Yemen Today about the big loss.

A strong and tremendous disappointment swept the Republic of Yemen after the defeat of the Yemeni team in the Gulf Cup 20. Many had high hopes that the Yemeni team would put up a good fight and perhaps even take home the trophy.  The long period that the team spent preparing and the more than thirty-five practice matches in which it played well gave many in Yemen hope that the Yemeni team would seize the opportunity of its home field advantage and go for the gold. Yemeni spectators were dismayed to see that the team repeatedly made the same mistakes throughout the three matches it played before being eliminated from the tournament. The team seemed to many Yemenis to lack spirit and the ability to put up a good fight.

Most Yemenis did not channel their resentment towards the team’s players, but to those in organizational roles, such as the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Yemeni Football Union.

Essam al-Hadya, a former footballer himself, thinks that the defeat of the Yemeni team is unsurprising because the team was disorganized and unprepared, but he blamed this lack of preparation on management rather than the players themselves. "Football in Yemen is seasonal, and in the Gulf countries they focus a lot on the teams from the early stages. They breed players,” he said.  He continued despondently, saying that football is only one area among many in which Yemen is behind its Gulf neighbors. “It is also a reflection that shows that our beloved country is left behind in most facets of life, and this of course includes football," said al-Hadya.

Abdulsamad Ibrahim, an employee at MTN and a former player for the al-Wahdah team in Sana'a, thinks that the people in charge of football in Yemen pay inadequate attention to the youth. "Football activities that were important in the past have disappeared. The championships that were very popular for players under 14, under 16, are disappearing. There is a strong need for providing experts in football-local and international- to be in charge of young players to help improve their skills professionally, so the football results in the future will be better," added Ibrahim.

Ibrahim also charged that there was randomness in the selection of the players for the Yemeni team, and said some players who did not make the cut were better players than those chosen. He refused to mention names. He also found fault with the fact that there were no veterans or experienced players on the team to balance out the younger players. "Finally, I think the team did not have a real leader to guide and instruct the team and you can see that the players were careless,” added Ibrahim.  

Hashim Sharf Addin, a TV anchor, also blamed the supervisors of the team, namely the Ministry of Sports and the Football Union, which he said did little to help make a football team capable of competing in regional and international championships. "We have seen many of our Yemeni players succeed in individual games like chess and table tennis, while group games fail since they need management,” he pointed out.  He added that Yemeni players are also hurt by a lack of financial support. He said that Yemeni athletes are forced to slave away at day jobs and are thus unable to focus fully on practice.

Abdustar al-Hamdani, a basketball coach and Executive Manager of the award-winning Yemen Special Olympics team blames both the team’s management and the lack of emphasis on athletics in Yemeni society for the loss. It is not clear, he said, whether Yemeni families prioritize athletics at all. He said athletics should be made compulsory in all public schools and that athletic academies should be established to nurture the talents of athletic Yemenis.

Al-Hamdani added that the players themselves are not to blame because they are amateurs and not professional players who have reached technical and tactical maturity. "I honestly did not expect better from our team,” Al-Hamdani said.  He said his expectations were so low because the atmosphere in Yemen is not conducive to athletics.  “Health is a low priority in this country,” he said, and pointed out that regular exercise and balanced diets are not common, and that the majority of citizens chew qat.  He said that these factors contribute to the lack of viable football players in Yemen.

Fatima al-Aghbari, a Yemeni blogger, said the pre-competition training was inadequate. She hypothesized that the training was not up to the standard it should have been. She said, “the matches that the team played before the Gulf Cup 20, as I heard, were not with really highly qualified teams.” She suggested that the government make support for football a higher priority.

Amer al-Hamdani, a businessman, was more willing than others interviewed to blame the team itself. He said that the national team lacks stamina, control,  consistency, teamwork, and height, among other things. “I blame the players 85 percent for their selfishness. When they have the ball, they make many mistakes. Everybody wants to score a goal when given a chance. Ali al Nono as a lone striker is not enough to be a threat to the opponent’s goal,” said al-Hamdani. He thinks that one of the team’s main problems is that none of the players have experience playing with strong international teams. He said that he recommended building a stronger team based on the skills of Yemen’s youth, who he recommended be put through training abroad.

Akrm al-Hindi agreed that the players deserve much of the blame for the loss, and said that, contrary to what many believe, the government and team management did everything they could and deserve no blame. "The players were given everything a football team needs,” he lamented, “but they forgot the most important thing-determination to win.”

 “They had all that is required to win,” he continued, “they have the field, they have the fans, they have all the Yemeni support and thus they let us down. Shame on them.” However, despite his disappointment, al-Hindi said Yemen is still a winner because of its great success in hosting the tournament.

Indeed, the one thing all the people Yemen Today talked to agreed on was that Yemen was, despite everything, ultimately a winner.  By hosting a successful tournament, Yemen showed the world that, despite public perceptions, it is a safe and beautiful place.  As for the Gulf Cup trophy, well, there’s always the Gulf 21.