Crossword Genius

Country festival hosting United team, surprisingly (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

guatemala

'country' is the definition.
(Guatemala is an example)

'festival hosting united team surprisingly' is the wordplay.
'festival' becomes 'gala' (I've seen this before**).
'hosting' is an insertion indicator.
'united' becomes 'u'.
'surprisingly' is an anagram indicator.
'u'+'team'='uteam'
'uteam' anagrammed gives 'uatem'.
'gala' enclosing 'uatem' is 'GUATEMALA'.

(Other definitions for guatemala that I've seen before include "Spanish-speaking country in Central America" , "Latin American place" , "place overseas" , "country south of the USA" , "Central American country" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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