Saudi fan’s chance to cheer his ‘home’ team

JEDDAH: For the past two decades, Bader Turkistani (pic) has criss-crossed the globe to cheer on the Saudi national football team, leading crowds in poetic chants that have made him a social media star.

This year’s World Cup in neighbouring Qatar, by contrast, has the feel of a home game: Doha is a mere two-hour flight from his base in Jeddah, on the Red Sea coast.

The close proximity has Turkistani dreaming of a ferocious turnout by football-mad Saudis, the kind of support he says could help the Green Falcons break out of the group stage for the first time in nearly three decades.

“The Saudi national team are considered to be playing on their land, playing among their fans. Having the World Cup in Qatar is like having it in Saudi Arabia,” the 37-year-old engineer said.

“A simple border separates us ... we will be present in very large numbers and fill the stadiums with 50,000 to 60,000 fans.”

On a recent afternoon, wearing a white-and-green scarf over his traditional white thobe, Turkistani gave a preview of some of the chants he hopes will propel the Green Falcons to glory.

“This is the green of Saudi,” he sang into an electronic megaphone, as a friend pounded a drum made of animal hide. “Oh Saudi, we have come.”

The stands of the Jeddah Stadium behind him were empty, but he is certain the scene will be completely different once play gets under way.

“50,000 fans will repeat this chant behind me in Qatar, instead of only 5,000 fans in Russia,” he said.

“This enthusiasm is transmitted to the players ... We hope that we, as fans, will bring out the players’ best energy.”

In total, Turkistani estimates he has watched more than 100 international matches played by the Green Falcons over the years, most of them documented in a bulging photo album he eagerly shows off to visitors.