Football fever grips Jordan ahead of historic 2023 AFC Asian Cup final | AFC Asian Cup News

Amman, Jordan – For Mohammad Trakhan, a cafe owner in Amman, tennis has always been the sport of choice despite living in a soccer-crazy country.

He demonstrates his passion for the game by swinging an imaginary racket before squeezing a glass of fresh orange juice at his colorful rustic hillside café in the Jordanian capital.

This week, however, the 37-year-old has turned his attention to football.

Jordan is in the Asian Cup final for the first time in its history and Trakhan, the reluctant football fan, predicts a 3-1 victory for his team over favorites Qatar.

Soccer fever has really taken over the country of 11 million people.

On Tuesday night, as the referee's final whistle confirmed Jordan's semi-final victory over powerhouse South Korea at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate.

Traffic came to a standstill as fans dressed in Jordanian keffiyehs waved flags, sang soccer chants and broke into impromptu performances of the traditional dabke dance.

On a central thoroughfare next to a quiet residential area, teenagers set off makeshift flares, igniting the spray with aerosol cans, while others climbed over each other, causing the crowd to sway and lose their balance.

The stern-faced police officers sounded their sirens as they tried to move the joyous crowd of fans forward, but drowned out by the raucous crowd, they soon conceded defeat and stepped aside.

'Are we now France or Argentina?'

Jordan is ranked 78th in the FIFA team rankings and their historic football achievement has captivated the nation.

The fervent atmosphere has sparked interest in the game among the uninitiated, including Mohammad al-Khayyat, a gregarious marketing director, who admits he doesn't watch much football.

“It is the first time we have reached the final of this tournament and we are all in shock,” he tells Al Jazeera.

“We asked ourselves: Wait, now we are France or Argentina?”

The reference to the finalists of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is not the only hyperbole.

For many Jordanians, including 23-year-old shop assistant Anas Awad, Tuesday night was the “best night for Jordan.”

Looking down a bustling street in central Amman, Awad says the party will be much bigger on Saturday night if Jordan wins the final.

While the majority of an-Nashama (the knights) fans are betting on their team's victory, the more serious ones are predicting a difficult match.

Waseem Mustafa, a sales assistant and avid kickboxer, draws on his own experience in sports and advises caution when predicting an easy win.

“Qatar is a strong team,” he says, frowning at the ground before going ahead with a 2-1 victory against Jordan anyway.

Awad, the store clerk, says he is impressed with Qatar, hosting the tournament. He says he would have flown to watch the match at Lusail Stadium if he “had been richer”.

Thousands of Jordanians have been happy to spend money on the final, whether with last-minute flights to Doha or buying the football team's jerseys in local markets.

Sales of replica Jordan football shirts have skyrocketed at Mustafa's store. His store manager desperately orders new batches on WhatsApp to meet demand, while a proud father places an order for his three children.

A local travel agency told Al Jazeera they had been inundated with requests from football fans desperate to fly to Qatar.

A new CHAMPION? Or a REPEAT? 🏆#AsianCup2023 #HayyaAsia pic.twitter.com/1TYHONOxNy

— AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 (@Qatar2023en) February 9, 2024

Israel's war on Gaza overshadows celebrations

An-Nashama's success is the talk of the town, but not everyone celebrated the victory on Tuesday.

Mohammed al-Barghuti, a soft-spoken customer at a popular clothing store in central Amman, decided to watch the game at home out of respect for Palestinians facing the wrath of Israel's war in Gaza.

“I felt [we] “I can't celebrate in public when they are killing humans,” he said solemnly.

“If it weren't for the war, we would have seen 10 times more celebrations in the streets than you saw on Tuesday.”

Jordan is home to more than two million registered Palestinian refugees, according to UNRWA.

Yahya Nasser, a 21-year-old barber and pastry chef in training, has no intention of celebrating if Jordan wins. Football, he says, is the last thing on his mind.

As a Jordanian of Palestinian origin, he cannot enjoy anything when he sees his people “fighting for their land and their lives.”

Trakhan, the cafe's owner, is originally from Palestine and says that while he doesn't mind other people celebrating, he will watch the final in a quiet environment, perhaps on his phone with some friends.