Compact nature of World Cup enhances more cultural exchange, festivities

While the compact nature of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 was a great boon for the football fans to attend several matches on a single day, it has also been a great enabler of better cultural exchange and festivities across the country.
According to many residents, the mega sporting event brought a cross-section of the world's population to Qatar, facilitating greater interaction between the residents and the visitors. And, they feel that it was made possible more because of the compact nature of the tournament.
“Since all the visitors are staying in and around Doha, they are moving through the city in groups. We could come across the fans of all the teams in and around the city. This may not happen in other host countries as all the matches are held in different cities and only those fans will reach the cities where their teams play. But in Qatar all the matches are held in the same city and everyone move together. It is so wonderful to see so many fans from across the world,” a long time resident said.
With all the stadiums situated in and around the city, the longest distance between the stadiums is around 50km from Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor to Al Janoub in Al Wakra.
A Brazilian fan who has attended three World Cup tournaments said that he was so pleased with Qatar and the places he visited. He explained: “When, I had attended the tournaments, I stayed in one city and then moved to another city after the game. So there we used to meet the supports of our rival team and they were the only other international fans who could be in the city.”
“But in Qatar, we see the fans of all the teams and we interact with everyone. In addition we also meet people from several other countries. So it is another learning experience for me as I could make many friends not only from Qatar but from many other countries. This was something very unique and heartening,” said the Guatemalan fan who had come all the way to cheer for Brazil. He also noted that it was his first visit to Qatar and he enjoyed the expedition to the desert the most.
Another interesting fact was that fans of different teams used to gather at various places in the city especially at Souq Waqif, Corniche Doha Metro stations as well as Katara and arrange fan activations. “This is another interesting fact as all the teams sing and dance to support their teams ahead of the matches every day. This kind of festivities from all the participating teams taking place at the same venues, is very rare in other tournaments as matches are taking place in different cities. Doha is unique in this aspect also,” said a French fan.
The World Cup also saw several fans following the traditional Qatari head gear as well as enjoying the great Arabian hospitality and the great Arabic coffee- Gava. The World Cup in Qatar stands unique on several counts and cultural exchange and common festivities had a greater place in the course of the tournament.