AIN ISSA, Syria – At a camp for the displaced in northern Syria, men and boys huddled near a projector to watch some of the world’s best footballers play on the side of a tent.
For these soccer enthusiasts uprooted by Syria’s seven-year war, World Cup games such as these offer brief respite from their woes and the daily grind at the camp.
Throughout the championship, a local charity is screening all matches for free at the Ain Issa camp for the displaced in the northern province of Raqa.
“Showing the World Cup at the camp is such a beautiful initiative because it draws people out of their torment,” spectator Abdallah Fadil al-Ubayd said.
“Everybody loves football,” said the 38-year-old, dressed in a red sports T-shirt to watch Mexico play Germany on Sunday.
As the players dashed across the portable screen, the commentator’s voice boomed out from loud speakers and across surrounding tent tops.
When Mexico scored, the cheers of dozens of spectators rose up above the camp.
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Sweden coach Janne Andersson says one of his staff got into a closed South Korea training session and was asked to leave, leading to a squabble between the teams over spying ahead of their World Cup game on Monday.
Andersson says the staffer, who is entrusted with scouting the opposition, thought the practice session at South Korea’s pre-World Cup training camp in Austria was open.
The incident has created a frosty atmosphere between the teams ahead of their game in Nizhny