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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
AP Muhammed Afsal

Shoomilah, Shoomilah: Rise of Qatar’s unofficial football anthem

The song first came to prominence on December 18, 2017, when Qatar celebrated its first national day after its neighbours Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain announced a blockade on it. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Doha, Qatar – A little-known word became a rousing anthem of national pride, first for a country under a regional diplomatic boycott in 2017 and again when Qatar, against all odds, won the Asian Cup football tournament in 2019.

Shoomilah, Shoomilah did not originate on the pitch but that did not stop it from becoming the Qatari national football team’s unofficial anthem.

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