Qataris cheer for Germany and dream of hosting a World Cup

By Nasser Elghanem in Doha
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-07-07

[NASSER ELGHAMEM/Al-Shorfa] The Qatar Bid Committee for the 2022 World Cup erected a large viewing tent in the Souq Waqif in Doha.

Along the traditional shops in Doha's Souq Waqif, World Cup fever has made its presence known.

Shops display the flags of the participating teams as a way to tell customers that they are sharing the excitement of following the World Cup.

Ahmed Bin Ali Al-Marri said, "Souq Waqif market has turned into a mini World Cup."

"Just as the World Cup has teams from all continents, the Souq Waqif market also has fans coming from different countries. You can find people from Korea, Japan, Brazil, the USA and the UK," he told Al-Shorfa.

"Everybody is singing to the tune of their favorite teams, and the beauty is that there is a friendly, sporting spirit among everyone regardless of who is winning or losing."

In the Souq Waqif, the Qatar Bid Committee for the 2022 World Cup seized the opportunity to promote its bid and erected a large tent in the market to allow people to follow World Cup matches. Free admission to the tent is permitted for visitors.

"We had this idea because we know people love football, especially the World Cup, and we also saw this as a good opportunity to get more people from the expatriate community residing in Qatar to support Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup," Ibrahim Al-Nasr told Al-Shorfa.

He said, "Despite the fact the tent is large, it is packed with spectators. They surely deserve it. It's the World Cup, so there are no limits."

Qataris are unanimous in their support for the German team, according to Tariq Al-Humaidan, and it is "the only team that is loved by everybody."

"Germany will definitely win the World Cup because there isn't any team that has been able to rival Germany so far. They have the best players in the world. I hope they will play against the Netherlands in the final," he added.

The World Cup is helping to boost hotel revenue in Doha, hotel employees said. Revenues increased thanks to higher customer volume in venues where the games are being broadcast.

Rami Farahat, sales and marketing manager at Fareej Sharq Hotel in Doha, told Al-Shorfa, "The World Cup season led to a rise in the hotel's revenues from the sale of food and beverages by 25%", explaining that "many people are coming to spend time in the hotel's salons."

It is not just the hotels that the World Cup helped in terms of increased revenues. Restaurants also benefitted.

"The World Cup is a golden opportunity," Talal Al-Abadi, a restaurant owner in Doha, told Al-Shorfa. "Not everyone is able to watch these matches [in their homes]. The screening of matches in restaurants will definitely increase the number of customers, and consequently the revenues."

Ahmed Al-Adnan, an Arab expatriate residing in Doha, said the coffee shops he used to visit before the World Cup "raised the price of a cup of tea from half a riyal to two riyals, and similarly the price of a Nargila has gone up to 20 riyals. The reason for this is that the coffee shops installed large TV sets for the World Cup matches."

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