Travel-weary Yemenis dream big

Cedelf Tupas/INQUIRER

BACOLOD CITY – Yemen harbors dreams of reaching the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 2019 in the United Arab Emirates, but playing matches in the qualifying stage should already count as a victory in itself considering the trouble its team has to go through just to represent the strife-torn Arab nation in the competition. 

The Yemenis arrived in this sugar-producing province last Saturday night for their clash with the Philippines on Tuesday at Panaad Stadium, after traveling for almost three days from the capital Sana’a, whose international airport has been closed since 2015 due to security reasons.

To reach Bacolod, the team traveled for almost 30 hours by bus to Muscat, Oman, where it took a two-hour flight to Doha, Qatar. The next leg of the journey was a nine-hour flight from Doha to Manila, before they jumped on another short flight to this bustling city. 

“We are struggling from all the traveling,” admitted Yemen’s Ethiopian coach Abraham Mebrato Gebreselassie. “Even from the capital Sana’a to Oman was a very tough journey for us because that was by bus. Its because Sana’a airport is closed that’s why we traveled such a long way.”

Except for a few players who ply their trade in Oman, Gebreselassie’s squad doesn’t have the benefit of playing in a local league since it has been stopped two years ago because of security concerns brought by the civil war in the country.  

But Gebreselassie said these challenges serve as a motivation as they clash with the Azkals in a crucial Group F clash in Asian Cup Qualifying. Having been based in Sana’a for the past eight years, handling the country’s Under-22 and Olympic teams, the Ethiopian knows the importance of qualifying for the Asian Cup as a means to unite the country.

“We had to face all these problems, but we will do our best to win tomorrow’s match,” he said. “We’re very thankful to be here. We want to make history (by qualifying for the Asian Cup) because it the people of Yemen love football.”