The 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar is nearly over. The final game is to be played on December 18 Sunday. This day is also remarkably important in the history of FIFA and Qatar as it is the National Day of State of Qatar.
But taking stock of international diehard fans who flew to Doha, Qatar for the tournament, this FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has indeed brought the world together.
BEHIND THE SCENE
This has made pride to the host country to hold its head high for not allowing it to be marred by any unrelated issues.
Though Qatar is a small country, its incident-free event with safety for all management has much to be lauded and proud of in what has transpired so far. Thus, this FIFA 2022 World Cup festival in Qatar is being viewed by the entire world as a test case for the reintroduction and staging of international competitive events that has captured the imagination of most sports enthusiasts.
The ongoing World Cup jamboree in Qatar so far hasn’t disappointed any players, team members, international fans and also the visitors yet but offering a unique opportunity with many surprises on and off the pitch.
Sharing their experiences, the international fans expressed their opinions saying that Qatar is a fantastic place to live and people in Qatar are very friendly.
They said that the colorful amazing events enable fans from different nationalities and backgrounds to enjoy the moment.
An American fan said: “Qatar is awesome. Don’t listen to others. Doha and its people are very nice. I am happy to stay here.”
“The organizers made fantastic arrangements for fans,” she added.
Another fan from the US said: “I am very happy to be here in Qatar. The Qatari community is very nice and people in Qatar are very friendly. The World Cup arrangements and events are very nice.”
He said that Qatar has changed the perspective of those thinking negatively by hosting such an amazing event. I want to live here and don’t want to go back to my home country.
“Qatar’s excellent preparations and arrangements for hosting the mega sporting event are excellent. The people, weather, and games are amazing. So far, I did not see anything missing to make this World Cup a historical one,” a Korean fan expressed.
Fans also lauded arrangements made by local authorities to ensure the security and safety of people. Speaking about security arrangements, a female fan said that adequate measures are in place to ensure safety and security for people, especially families and children.
“I am so safe in Qatar, it’s been amazing. No man has disturbed me inhumane,” said a female fan.
“Even in crowded subways, females felt safer. Everyone gave their seats to women standing up. I hope it’s not making western female reporters “Not so special,” a mother with child acclaimed.
I am happy to be here (in Qatar). Everything is better, people are friendly, it is a wonderful world. I discovered many things.” said an old man applauding Qatar’s successful management of the FIFA World Cup 2022 game.
“Qatar is a clean, safe and beautiful country. The staging of the prestigious 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is unbelievable. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is amazing. It will be the best World Cup ever,” a fan from Argentina commended.
Qatar’s charm comes from its rich heritage and traditions that cannot be found in other regions.
“Before coming here (Qatar), the world community was illustrating anti-Arab propaganda by the Western media. But once they arrive in Doha, the world’s people are getting to experience the beautiful Arabic culture, rich traditional Qatari culture that they are completely seeing only through the Western media’s racist narrative,” a female fan expressed.
“People are enjoying the food, the culture wearing Qatari traditional clothing and really seeing the beautiful country of Qatar. I am so happy that the Arabic world is being seen by the world community. Qatar’s very traditional food was delicious,” added a female fan.
Noticing a reason why the international fans plan to stay more in Qatar would be that Qatar is a cleaner, safer, bizarre nation with lots of amazement with huge potentials for tourism.
Japanese Fans Clean Stadium
Japan’s national football team is nicknamed Samurai Blue. The players wear blue-colored jerseys.
Fans of the Samurai Blue were appreciated by the world community as they were shown on TVs with their efforts to clear away their and others’ rubbish after matches at the World Cup in Qatar.
The team supporters wearing Japanese national football team’s blue-colored jerseys were seen cleaning the seats, salvaging cans, water bottles and other trash from the stadium floor.
When the world saw these admirable efforts, the world applauded Japan for winning the hearts of millions even at the cost of losing to Croatia in a game that eliminated Japan’s journey from the ongoing World Cup in Qatar.
The blue rubbish bags supplied by the Japan’s Football Association to their team’s fans carried the words “thank you” in Arabic, Japanese, and English.
It is also notable that some Japanese fans even cleaned up after matches in which their home team had not played. They were also seen cleaning up during the last World Cup in Russia in 2018.
Footballs from Pakistan
The FIFA World Cup in Qatar is being watched by millions of spectators around the world. But only a few millions of fans know that a large number of the footballs used in Qatar World Cup matches are made in Sialkot, a city in Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab.
Forward Sports was granted the contract by FIFA to make the 2022 World Cup footballs. This company had also supplied the footballs to 20th edition of FIFA World Cup in Brazil 2014 and the 21st tournament of the FIFA World Cup in Russia 2018.
US Journalist Dies in Qatar Stadium
A 48-year-old US sports journalist Grant Wahl died Friday in Qatar.
He collapsed in the media area and died of a heart attack caused by distress (as reported in Wall Street Journal) while covering a quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands.
According to the report, on the days of the match between USA-Wales November 22, the US journalist Wahl was refused to let him into the stadium as he was wearing a rainbow shirt by the Security guards saying “You have to change your shirt. It’s not allowed.”
Rainbow shirt is a gesture to show support for the LGBT community. It is to be noted here that according to the Qatar regulations same-sex relationships are illegal.
“The entire U.S. Soccer family is heartbroken to learn that we have lost Grant Wahl,” the U.S. soccer federation said in a statement.
Wahl became the top soccer writer at Sports Illustrated in 2000 and his relentless, well-rounded coverage of the sport made him possibly the most well-known soccer journalist in the U.S.
Wahl left Sports Illustrated in 2020 but continued covering soccer worldwide through a paid subscription site.
