Iraqi exiles rally behind Lions of Mesopotamia, believing football unites their people | OneFootball

Iraqi exiles across North America, many of whom fled after the 2003 invasion and the civil war that followed, have become a loud support for the Lions of Mesopotamia at the World Cup as they prepare to face France at 23:00 on Monday.

According to L'Équipe, songs and drums rang out by the Rocky statue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Saturday night, swelling into a wave of compatriots by late Sunday afternoon.

Many lack tickets yet still gather to back players idolised since the 2-1 intercontinental play-off win over Bolivia on 31 March. Fan Abbas, draped in a flag, said the squad mirrors Iraq’s mix of Kurds, Arabs, Christians, Sunnis and Shias, and that football binds people beyond origin.

Abbas has lived in Philadelphia for 10 years, after emigrating from Syria where his family had taken refuge in 2008 to flee Daesh. Ali, 37, an engineer in Boston whose name has been changed, said his father was kidnapped by al-Qaeda for ransom after a name mix-up, so the family spent five years in Jordan before emigrating when he was 20.

North America hosts much of Iraq’s diaspora, about 250,000 in the United States and more than 86,000 in Canada’s 2021 census. Head coach Graham Arnold noted noisy backing at the team hotel. Influencer Ahmed Hussam, with 5 million Instagram followers and famed for travelling to Monterrey, says he is mobilising fans and expects the anthem to be emotional on Monday night.

Source: L'Équipe