DOHA, Qatar — Abdulrahman Al Malki says he’ll never watch soccer the same way again after seeing Mexico‘s fans in action at the World Cup in Qatar.
There was a time when Al Malki, 28, a marketer for the Qatar Foundation (a state-led nonprofit organization), thought he might leave Doha for the month during the tournament to avoid the crush of visitors. Many of his compatriots did. But the tournament quickly got under his skin in a good way, and when he took in El Tri’s match with Poland back on Nov. 22, what he saw blew him away.
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“I’ve never been with Mexican fans, and that just changed everything for me,” he said while sitting outside a cafe in the Msheireb neighborhood. “The fans are insane. They’re the best fans I’ve seen. I haven’t seen somebody who supports their team as passionately as they do, and how they just bring the soul, it’s a full-of-soul crowd.”
For Qatari nationals like Al Malki, the 2022 World Cup provided a chance to showcase their country and the region to the world. It’s the first time an Arab country hosted the tournament, and with that follows the pressure of international scrutiny and a coming together of cultures from around the world. To get a sense of how locals experienced the World Cup, and their thoughts on the impact and challenges ahead, we spoke to several Qataris.
Abdallah Alsulaiti, a 31-year-old business development analyst for Aspire Academy (a sports academy that scouts and develops Qatari athletes), didn’t need any prodding to tune in to the World Cup. His father, Mohammed, was a goalkeeper for local club Al-Ahli back in the day. Through the round of 16, he went on to average a game per day.
