For Mohsin Abdulla Bukshaisha, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is all about driving from stadium to stadium and watching matches, irrespective of the teams and the timing. The Qatari fan is on a mission to break the Guinness World Record of watching the most World Cup matches during an edition.
“My plan is to watch more than 32 matches and break the current record of 31, set in South Africa. “This record is for Qatar. I wanted to contribute towards my country’s success in hosting a wonderful worldcup and set an almost unbreakable record,” Bukshaisha told Gulf Times in a chat. South African football fan Thulani Ngcobo watched 31 matches during the 2010 World Cup hosted by his home country. The Qatari fan had the idea for more than 10 years and he started to plan things after Qatar won the World Cup bid. The idea kept growing in his head since he felt that watching more than one match a day would be possible.
Yesterday, Bukshaisha completed his 16th match at Al Janoub Stadium, between Cameroon and Serbia. The Qatari fan, who is an official with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), has bought tickets for 42 matches. Asked about how he manages to reach from one stadium to another, he said that he currently uses his car. “I am looking to switch to Uber or motorbike to make it fast and easy,” he said.
The match between Saudi Arabia vs Argentina at Lusail Stadium on November 22 has so far turned out to be the favourite of Bukshaisha. He takes photos and videos in order to record them for the Guinness World Record. Also, he marks the number of the games on his cap after finishing the play. Bukshaisha says he is inspired by his kids, whom he barely meets these days. “I take home for them the complimentary flags as a gift,” he said. Also, he is grateful to his family members, friends, Qatari officials in the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and in the heritage committee and the friends at Phiit Training Studio for their support to accomplish the mission.
Taking cue from the inspiration he got from the current mission, Bukshaisha is planning to set the record of most matches in all World Cup tournaments. He thanked the current Guinness record holder Thulani Ngcobo since he inspired him. “I wish I had a little more support in moving around just like the ones accorded to the bloggers, who are given passes and parking privileges. If so, I could have attended more matches. Now I walk for about 15km per day which is really exhausting,” he added.
Mohsin Abdulla Bukshaisha
