Mukalla, Yemen – Weeks before this year’s World Cup started, Adel Mohsen’s backup battery broke down, and he couldn’t afford to replace it, meaning he wouldn’t have power at home when the electricity regularly goes out.
A fuel shortage also struck his home city of Mukalla, in eastern Yemen, leaving him struggling to secure enough for his motorbike, and restricting his ability to get around and watch games outside.
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end of list Adel is frustrated. The 56-year-old football enthusiast has watched every World Cup since 1982, defying wars, economic collapse, and political turmoil. But this year, he can’t escape the reality that more than a decade of war and economic hardship has brought to Yemen.
“I think this is the worst World Cup,” Adel told Al Jazeera, settling into a wooden bench as his eyes fixed on a giant public screen at a local stadium. “I might miss a lot of matches because of the power cuts.”
Despite paying for a subscription to a local television service airing the games, Adel could not secure the $200 needed for a backup battery at home, nor could he afford the internet vouchers needed to stream matches on his mobile phone.
The local stadium was, therefore, the best option for World Cup 2026.
Shortly before the opening match between South Africa and Mexico, the sound of generators echoed through the area, and the projector flickered to life only minutes before kickoff.
The courtyard was dark, its floor paved with worn stone slabs. Two men sat chewing qat, stimulant leaves widely consumed in Yemen, resting their backs against cement blocks. A few others lounged on a raised platform, scrolling through their mobiles as they chewed. The heat and humidity were intense; everyone was sweating.
Adel was quickly into World Cup mode.
“The Mexicans will keep attacking until they score a goal,” he said, glancing at his old mobile phone to review notes he hoped to use later in his analysis for local TV or social media.
His prediction came true shortly, as Mexico scored the opening goal. “I watch matches now through the eyes of an analyst rather than as a casual fan,” he explained. “There are only a few spectators here, as you can see, since neither team is very popular. Matches between big teams, such as Brazil, or Arab teams, usually attract far larger crowds of fans.”
Adel Mohsen has followed the World Cup since 1982, when he was 12, watching the tournament through decades of war, economic hardship, and political upheaval in Yemen [Saeed Al Batati/Al Jazeera] Falling in love with football
In 1982, the FIFA World Cup was hosted in Spain, only a few years after television first arrived in Mukalla and other cities of the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), more commonly known as South Yemen.
Adel was 12 years old at the time, and he remembers clearly where he and other fans gathered to watch the matches.
“That was like a first lover engraved in memory,” he said with a smile. “Although I was just a child at the time, I still remember the names of the players and the stadiums where those matches were played. Brazil had one of its greatest generations, with stars such as Zico, Falcao, and Eder. They delivered superb performances. The tournament was marked by the rough play of Italy’s defenders, most notably [Claudio] Gentile, whose violent tactics went unpunished.”
Adel found himself glued to the television along with his father and brothers, watching the tournament together.
“The atmosphere around the games was familial; we loved sports,” he said. “Those without televisions would gather at neighbours’ homes to watch together.”
At that time, matches were recorded in Aden, the capital of South Yemen, and then sent on tape by bus to the television station in Mukalla, meaning fans there watched the games a day later. “Since it was the first tournament people experienced on television, they were deeply impressed and enjoyed the matches as if they were live.”
Escaping homes where power cuts, intense heat and high humidity have turned rooms into ovens, football fans in Mukalla gather at public venues and cafes to watch World Cup matches [Saeed Al Batati/Al Jazeera] Football through war
In January 1986, thousands were killed and wounded in Aden when infighting erupted between rival factions of the governing Socialist Party. Months later, as the dust settled and defeated soldiers fled to North Yemen, the victors consolidated control over the country. That same year, Mexico hosted the World Cup.
Adel was 16, glued to the same television in the same room of his family’s home. “I was in secondary school, and I watched the matches with a deeper appreciation of the game, not just as a spectator,” he recalled. “That tournament…
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