KEY POINTS:
- Iraq brought home a sensational victory for its people after beating Oman in the final of the Arabian Gulf Cup.
- Iraqi Australians flooded the streets of Sydney from the crack of drawn following the special victory.
- The win moved people to tears, as celebrations erupted in Sydney's west, home to thousands of Iraqi diaspora.
Tears were shed, sweets shared, and beeps blared as one nation's flag flew high in Sydney's west after a football tournament victory floored community members in Australia.
Traffic stopped in the early morning of Friday in Fairfield, a local government area (LGA) in Sydney's west, that has the highest proportion of Iraqis in the country.
From the crack of dawn, scores of Iraqi diaspora flooded the streets with their flags, drums, and beats to celebrate the victory of their national team in the Arabian Gulf Cup after beating Oman in a 3-2 match.
They danced, cried, and embraced each other after being declared the victors of the tournament — an achievement that extends beyond the football field.
Videos on TikTok have been shared, showing people dancing in carparks and on the streets, with cars lined up on the main strip hoisting the Iraqi flag up on windows or in front of their bonnets.
"Hela hela, Iraqi are the winners," one user wrote.
It was considered particularly momentous as Iraq also hosted the event, the first international sporting event it has staged in more than 40 years.
The Arabian Gulf Cup is held every two years, with Gulf countries participating in the tournament as well as Yemen and Iraq. Iraq hasn't hosted the football event since 1979.
Basim Alansari, an Iraqi community leader in Australia, was among those who celebrated on Friday morning before heading to work. He said the celebrations turned emotional for some.
"Some people were actually crying. You know, one lady who I saw one of the places, she said, 'finally, we have something to celebrate'," he told SBS News.
"[Iraqi] people from all different religious beliefs, different races, different socio-economic classes, could all come together and celebrate today that identified as a unity day."
Around 25,000 people born in Iraq have settled in the Fairfield LGA — that's more than a quarter of all Iraqi-born people in Australia.
Dr Alansari said that Fairfield has long acted as a sanctuary for both new and old migrants and Iraqi refugees. For the community, the tournament win was seen as a symbolic success for a country marred in political turmoil in recent decades.
"A lot of members of the Iraqi communities community here in Australia are either extra refugees or still on refugee status. For them, I think this is a huge boost to connect them to the other communities," he said.
Iraq's hosting of the tournament also elevated the nation's status across the Middle East, with thousands travelling to Basra to attend matches while learning and engaging in Iraqi culture.
"The World Cup in Qatar, and now the Gulf Cup tournament, are being celebrated all over the Middle East," he said.
"That is actually significant for people to be putting their differences aside, and say, well, let's have a dance, let's have a real conversation."
People will continue to flood the streets of Fairfield on Friday evening, with community members spreading the word to bring a flag, a plate of food to distribute - and a drum or two - to celebrate the win.
The national victory was overshadowed across international media outlets after at least two people died and dozens were injured in a stampede at Basra International Stadium on Thursday night.
