Football fever grips shops as demand for accessories soars

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be held from November 20 until December 18.While FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 official licensed merchandise is sold at select outlets and can also be ordered online via the Qatar Post e-store, a variety of other football-related products, such as flags, scarves and headgear, can be found at different stores in Doha.It is prohibited to promote the sale of items bearing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 logo, trophy, mascot or FIFA trademark, without obtaining prior approval from FIFA.The authorities have repeatedly reminded commercial entities and the public not to sell or use such products. The sellers are also mindful of this and they ensure that they store or sell no such product that is in violation of the law.An employee of an outlet at Souq Waqif, which sells FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 official licensed products, told *Gulf Times that orders from many companies in Qatar have increased significantly in the past few days.“Many people (of different age groups) are visiting the shop daily since late October,” he said. “They are looking for jerseys, caps, footballs and small flags. Flags of different sizes are also in high demand, both from walk-in customers and bulk orders.”Jerseys, he noted, cost QR99 (fixed price) each at their store but some outlets offer other similar products for QR50 using other designs and fabrics, while prices of flags range from QR5-QR30 depending on the size.Keychains are pegged around QR30, while miniature World Cup trophies, in addition to other unique items such as fancy sunglasses, cups and water bottles, are also in demand.Another shop employee shared the same view, saying that FIFA World Cup items have provided a huge boost to their sales, leading some to temporarily keep their usual wares aside in view of the World Cup rush.“Excited football fans, whether families, groups of friends, especially those who have bought tickets for the matches, began purchasing accessories like flags and caps to show support for their teams,” he said.He expressed confidence that the trend, just like any related to any major sporting event, would continue in the coming days and throughout the tournament.Shops and boutiques at malls, shopping centres and in other locations across Qatar, apart from tourist spots, also get a fair share of the pie, receiving an influx of shoppers, it is learnt.Prices of basic football-themed t-shirts start from QR35 while caps cost between QR45-QR75.A boutique employee said they often run out of stock of jerseys with the names of participating countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Portugal and Qatar “for some obvious reasons”.“Price is not an issue, customers don’t even ask for discounts, they simply pay and want to get hold of them,” he said. “Some would buy more than one jersey – it's mostly football fans who collect such items.”