Social media influencers are sharing humorous videos of an Omani football fan called 'Mjomba' who is considered as a "jinx cheerleader" and "bad luck" by many at the FIFA World Cup Qatar. And looking at the past matches that Mjomba supported, you certainly won't want this fan to wear your favourite team's jersey as the final four team contest for the World Cup trophy.
Mjomba, whose real name is Mohammed Al-Hajri, is believed to be one of top social media icons in Oman. Hajri, who's currently in Doha, has been documenting his World Cup experience in the country. In photos and videos, he always appears with wide smiles and dressed in team-inspired outfits.
But recently, his followers have been doing a double take on his outfits and all the teams who have lost the World Cup matches. One thing they've noticed, is an outfit equals to a team demise in the tournament.
Having noticed the interesting pattern, World Cup fans have interacted with him. Some even lay out a request for him to wear an opposing team's jersey to ensure a loss, thinking that he could jinx a team's win, simply by supporting them.
Mjomba rose further into the spotlight during the group match between South Korea and Brazil, to which he wore the Taeguk Warrior's jersey, and came home to a Brazil 4-1 win.
This was followed by request from Moroccan fans who gladly asked him to support Spain instead of their team. Surely, Mjomba arrived at the stadium with Spain's flag only to leave the venue with another heartbreak, quite opposite to the knowing smiles of the Atlas Lions fans.
That night, Spain lost to Morocco to qualify for the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Just a few days ago, Mjomba arrived at Lusail Stadium. This time wearing a Dutch national team shirt and spoke with renowned Moroccan presenter Ashraf Bin Ayad, to which the presenter joked: “You must wear the Portugal uniform. You must wear Cristiano’s shirt from now on.”
Mjomba happily took the advice, sharing on social media: "Let’s Gooo portugal Siiiiu." And the rest was history.
He wore Cristiano Ronaldo's shirt to support Portugal, and given his not so fortunate luck and much to the delight of the Moroccan fans, Portugal ended up being eliminated from the World Cup, catapulting Morocco to qualify for the semi-finals.
In a recent interview to Al-Kass TV, Mjomba said that it was unplanned initially and he felt sorry for the bad luck he brought on Qatari fans. "I came from Oman and planned to attend the opening match, wearing the Qatari uniform and supporting Al-Annabi. I did not realise that a jinx was working, so forgive me."
One indeed needs to wait and watch to see which team will Mjomba support in the Semis next and will history repeat itself or will the jinx be broken!
