Fanfare with a difference

This 40,000-seat Al Janoub stadium was packed to the rafters for the Amir Cup played between Xavi led Al Sadd and a resurgent Duhail, which came from a player and goal down, to seal a famous victory over the star-studded recently crowned QSL champions. Both teams were without a few of their star players but that didn’t diminish the quality of the match played to the beats of Qatari fans playing their drums and urging the players on.The Amir Cup also brought together communities from far and wide as Africa and Asia to Turkey and Kuwait. There were fans sporting their respective club jerseys like the famed Galatasary legend Metin Oktay “No 10” to probably the most popular Arab footballer currently, Mo Salah. The volunteer team did a commendable job and one was pleasantly surprised to meet young Kuwaiti girls, who flew into Doha to volunteer for this historic occasion — truly bringing the Arab world together by way of volunteerism.Playing a balancing act between adhering to FIFA standards and promoting a sustainable world, the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar committee have hit two birds with one stone, as FIFA stipulates all World Cup stadiums should have a minimum seating capacity of 40,000, the stadiums keep to those stipulations but what happens post-World Cup is that a certain number of the seats will be donated to various stadia across the world. This will not only assist other sporting nations but also leave a lasting legacy of 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar and to top it all, all the seats of Al Janoub stadium are Made in Qatar! — Text and photos by Bosco Menezes (@bigbfotography)