Qatar WC | Fans and Atmosphere Watch

Utd heap said:
I'd been pretty naive in not realising how potentially accessible this WC is for subcontinent fans - that's one nice plus point in the midst of this shit show. If you'd asked me a year ago i'd have guessed half the games would be half empty, seems like very much not the case?

Or will games like Wales v USA be pretty low key? (Bale, Pulisic etc - maybe enough?).
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Exactly this.

On the attendance for lower key games, I think they'll be fairly well attended too. I understand that the tickets sold to residents were significantly cheaper. https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/ticket-prices-en

If I was an expat working in Qatar, I'd definitely attend a whole bunch on games with tickets priced at £8 to £16
 
This tweet on the previous page was deleted. So reposting. But this I fear is a sign of things to come.

 
The Corinthian said:
Most if not all of Canary Wharf in London is owned by Qataris.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40192970.amp
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Exactly, and it's not going to stop at Canary Wharf either. Manchester City Council have sold of swathes of land to Abu Dhabi ridiculously cheap.

Dread to think what ownership of the majority of Britain will look like in 20-30 years.

Public land sold to Manchester City’s owners on the cheap in ‘sweetheart deal,’ report claims | The Independent
How a great English city sold itself to Abu Dhabi’s elite – and not even for a good price | Aditya Chakrabortty | The Guardian
 
MUFC OK said:
Exactly, and it's not going to stop at Canary Wharf either. Manchester City Council have sold of swathes of land to Abu Dhabi ridiculously cheap.

Dread to think what ownership of the majority of Britain will look like in 20-30 years.

Public land sold to Manchester City’s owners on the cheap in ‘sweetheart deal,’ report claims | The Independent
How a great English city sold itself to Abu Dhabi’s elite – and not even for a good price | Aditya Chakrabortty | The Guardian
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That's on british politicians and officials.
 
Rood said:
It is actually a thing that fans from certain countries will support an entirely different national team, mostly because their own is shite with no chance of playing at the World Cup or they are Messi/Ronaldo/Benzema fanboys who follow whoever they play for

Also a lot of misunderstanding about ease of travel and visas etc in this thread. Priviledged Europeans, Americans etc dont understand how difficult it is for people from developing countries to travel the world whereas these particular fans now have a once in a lifetime opportunity to see some of the players they see on the TV in the flesh.

I do understand that some might find it weird to see these fans from the Subcontinent in England/Brazil etc shirts but is it really that different to someone from Thailand/Nigeria/USA etc supporting Manchester United?

I doubt they are paid but probably they have been given a load of free shit to make these videos seem better
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England’s footballers were greeted by the bizarre but joyous sight of hundreds of Indian expats serenading them with “It’s coming home” as they arrived at their hotel in Qatar on Tuesday evening.​
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As the England coach pulled into the five-star Souq Al Wakra hotel just south of Doha, the fans banged drums, blew trumpets and even crashed through a police barrier to get a better view. There were loud cheers for the captain, Harry Kane, and an even bigger one for Gareth Southgate, especially when the manager turned to wave.​
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There were also familiar chants of “England! England!” as well as the rather unusual “Southgate is our super coach! Sterling is our super star! Pickford is our super keeper”.​
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It was another sign that this World Cup, the first in the Middle East and the first to be held in winter, will be very different to the 21 tournaments that have come before it......​
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Signing the national anthem of another country, doing a parade or signing chants for other NT it's way too much for my taste.

You can wear another's NT t-shirt(i have done it), but doing a parade it's way too much, i can't imagine myself travelling to a WC specifically to support another NT and organize a parade with my fellow countrymen to sign chants for other country...no way.

And i doubt these guys haven't received any incentive at all in order to organize these parades posing as fans.
 
Rood said:
It is actually a thing that fans from certain countries will support an entirely different national team, mostly because their own is shite with no chance of playing at the World Cup or they are Messi/Ronaldo/Benzema fanboys who follow whoever they play for

Also a lot of misunderstanding about ease of travel and visas etc in this thread. Priviledged Europeans, Americans etc dont understand how difficult it is for people from developing countries to travel the world whereas these particular fans now have a once in a lifetime opportunity to see some of the players they see on the TV in the flesh.

I do understand that some might find it weird to see these fans from the Subcontinent in England/Brazil etc shirts but is it really that different to someone from Thailand/Nigeria/USA etc supporting Manchester United?

I doubt they are paid but probably they have been given a load of free shit to make these videos seem better
​
​
​
​
​
England’s footballers were greeted by the bizarre but joyous sight of hundreds of Indian expats serenading them with “It’s coming home” as they arrived at their hotel in Qatar on Tuesday evening.​
​
As the England coach pulled into the five-star Souq Al Wakra hotel just south of Doha, the fans banged drums, blew trumpets and even crashed through a police barrier to get a better view. There were loud cheers for the captain, Harry Kane, and an even bigger one for Gareth Southgate, especially when the manager turned to wave.​
​
There were also familiar chants of “England! England!” as well as the rather unusual “Southgate is our super coach! Sterling is our super star! Pickford is our super keeper”.​
​
It was another sign that this World Cup, the first in the Middle East and the first to be held in winter, will be very different to the 21 tournaments that have come before it......​
​
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It may be "a thing" but it shouldn't used as a reason to hold a WC in Qatar just so fans from non-participant nations with visa issues are somehow prioritized to the inconvenience of actual fans from participant nations.
 
FrankFoot said:
Signing the national anthem of another country, doing a parade or signing chants for other NT it's way too much for my taste.

You can wear another's NT t-shirt(i have done it), but doing a parade it's way too much, i can't imagine myself travelling to a WC specifically to support another NT and organize a parade with my fellow countrymen to sign chants for other country...no way.

And i doubt these guys haven't received any incentive at all in order to organize these parades posing as fans.
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No one is singing another national anthem and no one travelled there for this either - those fans live in Qatar

Raoul said:
It may be "a thing" but it shouldn't used as a reason to hold a WC in Qatar just so fans from non-participant nations with visa issues are somehow prioritized to the inconvenience of actual fans from participant nations.
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Good job no one used it as reason!
And obviously the local population who live in Qatar SHOULD be prioritised - just like local fans are in every World Cup thats ever been where a portion of tickets are always sold to local residents.
Which fans are being inconvinienced?

By the way fans from all the Asian and African qualified countries will find this to be the most accessible World Cup ever (Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Japan, Ghana, Iran etc) - football isnt just for Europe and the Americas
 
FrankFoot said:
Signing the national anthem of another country, doing a parade or signing chants for other NT it's way too much for my taste.

You can wear another's NT t-shirt(i have done it), but doing a parade it's way too much, i can't imagine myself travelling to a WC specifically to support another NT and organize a parade with my fellow countrymen to sign chants for other country...no way.

And i doubt these guys haven't received any incentive at all in order to organize these parades posing as fans.
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OMG - incentives? There is a life outside of your world or country. Just come out of it and look around.
 
Quotes from Danish national team coach Kasper Hjulmand about the situation (loosely translated):
"It's ridiculous. If it is what it looks like, it can only be described as theater.

I think it is condescending, if they think they can convince us that these people are happy to be Denmark or England fans, if they are not also fans in a year. It's condescending, and it's a theater."
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Can't say I disagree.
 
Rood said:
No one is singing another national anthem and no one travelled there for this either - those fans live in Qatar



Good job no one used it as reason!
And obviously the local population who live in Qatar SHOULD be prioritised - just like local fans are in every World Cup thats ever been where a portion of tickets are always sold to local residents.
Which fans are being inconvinienced?

By the way fans from all the Asian and African qualified countries will find this to be the most accessible World Cup ever (Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Japan, Ghana, Iran etc) - football isnt just for Europe and the Americas
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The local fans in traditional WC host nations usually have fans from that nation. Where are the actual Qatari nationals and fans of the Qatari national team here ?
 
yumtum said:
Your point is irrelevant when the chief executive officer of the world cup said the cost would be lower in fan zones?

I can't wait to see the Welsh version of these fans singing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.
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It was a general point that some people might not have been aware of, not one intended to make you upset.

Ideally, the cost would be lower, but this is the Middle East and 12 quid is standard unfortunately.

What a shitty World Cup this is going to be.
 
Kag said:
It was a general point that some people might not have been aware of, not one intended to make you upset.

Ideally, the cost would be lower, but this is the Middle East and 12 quid is standard unfortunately.

What a shitty World Cup this is going to be.
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I'm not there so it doesn't really upset me.

Again, you've said it's the standard, which is correct but you've failed to see my point in the the chief executive officer of the world cup said that alcohol would be cheaper I'm fan zones, just like the time they said the world cup wouldn't be moves as the stadiums would have AC.
 
Raoul said:
The local fans in traditional WC host nations usually have fans from that nation. Where are the actual Qatari nationals and fans of the Qatari national team here ?
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Only 10% of the population of Qatar are actually Qatari - there is double the amount of Indians alone nevermind all the other nationalities that live there

Doesnt help that Qatar national team are shite, so the expat population who dont have their own team there choose other countries to support
 
yumtum said:
I'm not there so it doesn't really upset me.

Again, you've said it's the standard, which is correct but you've failed to see my point in the the chief executive officer of the world cup said that alcohol would be cheaper I'm fan zones, just like the time they said the world cup wouldn't be moves as the stadiums would have AC.
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I wasn’t disputing your point at all. I wasn’t really interested in it either. I just made a general observation that £12 for a pint in Qatar is bog standard.

It’s like me saying that a Freddo is no longer 20 pence and you telling me I’ve missed the point because the owner once said it would always be 20 pence. I’m not arguing with anything that you’ve said at all.

It’s a shame the Chief Executive lied. One of many liars involved in all of this.
 
Rood said:
By the way fans from all the Asian and African qualified countries will find this to be the most accessible World Cup ever (Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Japan, Ghana, Iran etc) - football isnt just for Europe and the Americas
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I'm pretty sure that World Cup 2002 held in Japan was actually more accessible for Japanese fans than one in Qatar. This probably applies not only to Japan, but to many other Asian countries. Same can be said about African countries and World Cup 2010 that was held in Africa.
 
Rood said:
Only 10% of the population of Qatar are actually Qatari - there is double the amount of Indians alone nevermind all the other nationalities that live there

Doesnt help that Qatar national team are shite, so the expat population who dont have their own team there choose other countries to support
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Therein lies the problem. Qatar is basically a nation of very few people and everyone else has been imported for work or other reasons. Therefore Cantona (among many others) was absolutely spot on in saying its not a serious football country, and yet the entire football world is being asked to interrupt their club seasons to participate in this dog and pony show, because Fifa gave the WC to some Gulf state that doesn't have the climate or legitimate fan base to support the biggest football tournament on the planet.
 
I've not worked out the full truth behind this 'fake fans' thing but it's already a bit of a dodgy western media line IMO.

There's so many legit things to hammer Qatar for as a regime we don't need this 'haha you don't follow football like we do' angle.
 
Rood said:
No one is singing another national anthem and no one travelled there for this either - those fans live in Qatar



Good job no one used it as reason!
And obviously the local population who live in Qatar SHOULD be prioritised - just like local fans are in every World Cup thats ever been where a portion of tickets are always sold to local residents.
Which fans are being inconvinienced?

By the way fans from all the Asian and African qualified countries will find this to be the most accessible World Cup ever (Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Japan, Ghana, Iran etc) - football isnt just for Europe and the Americas
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This will be most accessible WC for Japanese? More so than the 2002 that was held in *checks notes* Japan? Not sure about Ghana compared to 2010 either.
 
Norris Cole said:
100% fake. I am sure they are football enthusiasts, but they are certainly being paid or at least rewarded for doing this.

The identical novelty kits, the signs which are all the same just different colours, the choreographed marching.

Anyone entertaining that these are 'real' fans has lost it
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You going to be showing the world cup in the Cabin? I'll give Les a buzz and we'll bring a few tinnies.
 
Mike Smalling said:
Qatar 2022 organisers reject ‘fake fan’ claims


So believable :lol:
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They are super fans.

But seriously, this:

One England supporter from Kerala who led the chants described suggestions that he and the others were receiving cash to be cheerleaders as “fake news”.

“None of us is getting paid,” he said. “We are diehard England fans. My favourite player was Beckham, but now it is Saka. If someone offered to pay us to support England we would turn them down. We are genuine supporters. Many of us grew up watching Beckham and Michael Owen. Our love is to this team.”
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seems fair enough to me (and is in line with what is known about that fan culture. It may seem a bit strange to us that they identify so strongly with a national team (rather than a club team), but there you go: that's the culture.
 
If they are indeed fake fans then you've got to wonder why we aren't seeing fake fans for the teams who aren't footballing powerhouses like Costa Rica, Serbia and Ireland.
 
FrankFoot said:
That's on british politicians and officials.
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I don't disagree. UK Government do not care where the money comes from - such is the desperate state into which they've run the economy.

Russia was another case in point - dirty money was laundered through London, to the knowledge of and perhaps encouragement of officials. The irony of the chest thumping Brexit brigade is they will sell off any UK based asset if the price is right regardless of the buyer or the source of funds used, whilst relocating their own assets and resources elsewhere to anywhere with a more favourable legislative framework. Convo for another thread but yeah, it's dodgy.
 
hellhunter said:
Something I haven't considered yet, but with the tournament being in Qatar, will there be a babe watch thread :nervous: ?
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Babes thread died last year after it's sole contributor @Samid spammed it with underage girls and was outted as a megapaedo.
 
P-Ro said:
If they are indeed fake fans then you've got to wonder why we aren't seeing fake fans for the teams who aren't footballing powerhouses like Costa Rica, Serbia and Ireland.
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I don't think they are "fake fans" in the sense that they're paid to pretend they're fans.

That really makes no sense. There isn't any logical reason why - say - regular England fans (as in: actual English people) would turn up in Qatar in numbers a week before the tournament starts. The organizers aren't that stupid, they aren't trying to sell the people we've seen as regular England fans.

These guys may have been encouraged to show up in public places to add a bit of "atmosphere", though - that I can believe.
 
Chesterlestreet said:
They are super fans.

But seriously, this:



seems fair enough to me (and is in line with what is known about that fan culture. It may seem a bit strange to us that they identify so strongly with a national team (rather than a club team), but there you go: that's the culture.
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Ive no idea if this specific group of guys are legit, but English football is such a big deal that its quite plausible. If we find every team in the tourney has a group of their own supporters Id be a lot more suspicious.
 
largelyworried said:
If we find every team in the tourney has a group of their own supporters Id be a lot more suspicious.
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Yes, exactly.

If a bunch of Canada fans who are clearly from somewhere in India show up in the same fashion...then yeah.

But as others have pointed out before, the phenomenon itself (Indians being fans of big/major national teams) is well known. It's just a different kind of fan culture from what most of us tend to think of as "normal".
 
These fans are just cuhrrrrazzay! Out of control party animals. Absolute rascals and lads being lads.

Now blink twice and tilt your head back if you’re under duress
 
mav_9me said:
This tweet on the previous page was deleted. So reposting. But this I fear is a sign of things to come.

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Danish people speaking English sounds exactly the same as Dutch people speaking English.
 
KirkDuyt said:
Danish people speaking English sounds exactly the same as Dutch people speaking English.
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It's really amazing how people from opposite ends of the world can have similar accents.
 
Chesterlestreet said:
seems fair enough to me (and is in line with what is known about that fan culture. It may seem a bit strange to us that they identify so strongly with a national team (rather than a club team), but there you go: that's the culture.
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Just seen some videos of Argentina training in Abu Dhabi. Loads of Indian fans in attendance, decked out in Argentina tops. Surely Qatar aren't paying for those too :wenger:

Edit: some training match actually
 
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