Argentina fans visit ‘World Cup Syndrome’ clinic after shocking loss

A hospital in Meizhou, South China’s Guangdong Province, has opened a special “World Cup Syndrome” clinic for football fans during the World Cup to receive more than 60 patients in only two days. The clinic saw a peak of patients after Argentina’s surprise loss to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

“World Cup Syndrome” usually indicates a sudden increase in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and respiratory diseases caused by some fans staying up late to watch matches during the World Cup, Zhang Yanzhong, an attending herbalist at Meizhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, told People’s Daily in an interview on Wednesday.

Zhang said he noted that after Argentina’s surprise loss to Saudi Arabia, many fans showed up with symptoms including chest tightness and shortness of breath.

Zhang said the majority of patients coming to the clinic are male fans, suffering from insomnia, internal organ dysfunction, agitation and other symptoms due to continuous late nights and mood swings.

The doctor said the attending physicians at the “World Cup Syndrome” clinic are all members of the hospital’s football team and are thus better able to empathize with fans’ emotions.

The idea for the clinic came up during the last World Cup in 2018, Zhang said. At that time, a veteran fan who had been watching football for more than 10 years had trouble sleeping because of Germany’s elimination from the group stage. He went to work the next day with dizziness and nausea, and was unable to move his right hand after a twitch. The man was later diagnosed with vegetative system dysfunction at the hospital.