Why this Asian Cup final is such a special moment

I am Jordanian of Palestinian origin, and I was born in Qatar, with a passion for football. So, when the Asian Cup final is Jordan versus Qatar, you simply couldn’t script it. It is the dream final for me, and, as is evident to me, for the whole Mena region. However, the continent’s most important football tournament has been played during a grim time in our region. The war in Gaza has cast a dark shadow over our people, with no end in sight to the misery. Football has given us something to cling on to during these times : hope. The game has rallied people together in our region from all walks of life, bringing out a sense of pride. It has brought joy and happiness, and unified us in support of the two Arab teams in the finals. Although at one point in the tournament, with only Jordan and hosts Qatar remaining in the quarter-final stages, the chances for our teams looked slim, especially with giants such as Japan, South Korea and Iran waiting in the wings to end our journey. As it turns out, however, Jordan made history by reaching the semi-finals for the first time – where they would face South Korea, a team ranked 23rd in the world and whose players play in five of the top European leagues. Despite us being ranked more than 60 places lower than South Korea, and despite being major underdogs, I simply had to go to Doha and support my country at the game, armed with the belief and hope that our boys would pull off a major surprise. I arrived in Doha wearing my country’s colours, switched on my phone and was encouraged to see messages of support from my Kuwaiti business partners. I then went through passport control where the respectful Qatari lady officer wished us luck for the game. I walked out of the airport hearing shouts of “Go Jordan” on the way. I checked in at the hotel front desk where the receptionist from Lebanon expressed her support for the “Nashama” (the Chivalrous Ones) – as the Jordanian side are affectionately called – before finally heading out to the stadium for the game. The journey to my seat in the stadium was full of supportive messages from people I met along the way. They were from various countries in the region who either worked in the stadium or were coming to watch the match. People from Palestine, Qatar, Iraq, the UAE, Oman, Egypt, Tunisia, among others, were all there. They were rooting for us. The feeling was incredible, and the pressure to deliver on the hope was huge. There have been several memorable footballing moments in my life for which I was present at the venue. The first one was when Chelsea, the English Premier League club that I have supported since I was young, won the European Champions League for the first time, after a penalty shootout win against Bayern Munich in 2012. The other two were epic promotions for Bristol Rovers, the English League One club, in 2016 and 2022 – both of which deserve to have books written about them. They were that special. The fourth memorable footballing moment is, of course, Jordan’s unbelievable – and historic – victory over South Korea to punch a ticket to Saturday’s Asian Cup final, and the outpouring of emotions that came with it. Tuesday’s win sparked off celebrations in the streets of Amman and all the cities and towns in Jordan, as well as in Doha, with the waving of flags and the honking of car horns. Hope had triumphed. You could see social media videos of displaced Gazans watching the win on their mobile phones from inside their tents, and you could almost hear them cheer and smile. It was amply clear that Nashama’s victory had given them some respite – if only a temporary escape – from the hell that they are facing at the moment. I hope my next memorable footballing moment is not too far away. As is often said in football, it is the hope that kills.