By Zakaria al-Kamali
SANAA
In the midst of years-long political divisions, Yemenis heatedly cheered for their country's football team after it secured its first point in the Gulf Cup of Nations, hosted by Saudi Arabia, on Thursday night.
In a highly-praised performance by local sports analysts, Yemen's national football team has gained its first point during the tournament's opener with a 0-0 draw with Bahrain, breaking a streak of losses in nine matches it played during three past tournaments since 2009.
Yemeni expatriates who attended the match in Riyadh cheered strongly for their team throughout the game, holding aloft their country's flag.
Yemen's participation in the tournament managed to "surpass the ability of politics in unifying Yemenis' emotions and raising the flag of the united Yemeni republic," local sports journalist Walid Gahzer told Anadolu Agency.
"Yemen's participation [in the tournament] has helped raise Yemenis' morale amid a wave of frustration from the political elite's mismanagement of the country and its reflection on Yemen's future," he said. "Support for the team was a common sentiment among Yemenis whether in the north or south."
The Yemeni football received unprecedented support by government officials ahead of the tournament.
Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi phoned his Youth and Sports Minister Raafat al-Akhali, who leads the Yemeni football delegation at the tournament, to ensure that "all obstacles that could face the team would be managed" so their morale would be elevated throughout the championship, Yemen's official news agency reported.
Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah also showed support for the team by posting a photo of himself on Facebook donning the team's uniform while holding a football in his hand.
The Gulf Cup of Nations tournament will conclude on November 26.
Yemen has recently appeared on the verge of civil war, as the Shiite Houthis seek to expand their control beyond capital Sanaa, which they took over in late September.
The Houthis' growing influence in the country has pitted the Shiite movement against both Al-Qaeda – which is said to be active in politically fractious Yemen – and allied tribes.
Recent fighting between the warring camps in the country's central and western regions has left dozens dead.
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