The ‘hard core’ of Qatar comes from Lebanon, Syria and Egypt

• Thierry Boon

  Editor in Qatar

The eyes of the football world are on the World Cup in Qatar. In the wake of the absolute world stars and in the margins of the big news, NOS editor Thierry Boon writes daily about what he experiences in Doha.

It immediately stands out during the opening ceremony. As Al Bayt Stadium swirls with excitement, one box is empty. Just empty. No seat occupied. Still quite remarkable, so close to the start of the World Cup.

And then all of a sudden they come in. The empty box fills up in no time with a bunch of bustling football fans, including flags, scarves, bandanas and drums. All in the national color of Qatar. That is striking, among the other Qataris, who are sitting in the stands in their white robes.

Sing, jump, dance. With a conviction to be afraid of. At the front of the section are the blowers: two with a drum indicate the rhythm, another man starts the songs with his back to the field. The rest follows with abandon.

South American scenes. Imagine yourself in La Bombonera, Buenos Aires. At the classic Bocu Juniors-River Plate, that’s how it usually goes. The football fans from Qatar stand out in their own league mainly because of their absence.

Despite the vocal support, home country Qatar is very disappointing from the first minute on its World Cup debut. And that after the mysterious months of training with various trips and 26 practice duels.

Already after the first (!) half, with a 0-2 deficit, Qatari supporters leave the stadium. As the game progresses, more and more empty seats are visible. And that in the competition that the country has been working towards for twelve years.

“I was busy coaching and did not see the empty seats,” said Félix Sánchez, the national coach of Qatar, quasi-nonchalantly at the press conference.

It empties. Except behind the goal. There they go, for ninety minutes. The contrast with the rest is enormous. So big you wonder how credible it is.

Inquiries show that the men behind the goal are not from Qatar, but from countries such as Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. They do live here, they say, and favor Qatar “because it is also an Arab country”.

At least they are loyal. On images from March this year, during an exhibition game with Slovenia in the Education City Stadium, they are already making themselves heard.

In an otherwise fairly empty stadium, also not particularly atmospheric, the box hosts loosely.

Would they have accidentally let their ‘hard core’ practice behind closed doors in Qatar instead of their football team in recent months?

Anyone who has been to Qatar-Ecuador will almost think it.