Football Fever
Excitement builds up as World Cup begins in Qatar
On Sunday, arguably the world’s biggest sporting event kicked off when host Qatar met South America’s Ecuador in Al Bayt Stadium about 35km from Doha.
Alongside the excitement on the pitch, FIFA World Cup 2022 will also provide a major boost to
GCC economies through fan visits and tourism boom.
Football's premiere event is expected to draw over 1.2mn visitors to Qatar over the course of
the five-week tournament. Besides being the first World Cup in the Middle East, it is also the first played during winter.
This World Cup is likely the last for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two giants who have ruled the football pitch for the past decade. In an interview with Piers Morgan earlier this
week, Ronaldo, 37, vowed to retire if he leads Portugal to victory.
Across Oman, both young and old are geared up to celebrate the ‘beautiful game’. Sabri Abdullah,
a football fan who works for PDO, said he has made elaborate
preparations to catch the excite
ment. “The first thing I did was to invest in an enormous TV. I try to make such events a family affair; I don’t like the idea of going out to public places like hotels and
restaurants to watch matches,” he said.
Aiman al Zakwani, another passionate football fan, said he opted not to avail his annual leave
in November to avoid travel and thereby miss the matches. “I just want to be home throughout the tournament. I enjoy watching matches in the comfort of my
bean bag. Match timings are very good this year,” he said.
Others like Mohammed al Balushi, a football fan from Sohar, however, have more fun watching matches in cafes with a bunch
of family and friends. “That’s way more exciting. It is more fun
cheering and celebrating with other football lovers.”
For Balushi, the bigger the crowd, the better it is, and the
time of the matches doesn’t matter. “After all, the World Cup happens once in four years. We can sleep after the finals.”
To keep up with demand, giant screens are ready at cafés to welcome large crowds.