Football Festival - Japan vs Costa Rica - Ahmed Bin Ali stadium. November 27, 2022
One week of football fiesta - festivities and
tempo are sustaining. Fans and followers vie to add their bit to the overall
festive atmosphere. Malayalees are everywhere. My estimates, today Japan
vs Costa Rica, at least one third were Malayalees. I could see and hear them in
the crowded metro (nothing comparable to Mumbai suburban trains), in the
snake like winding queues, (each of the 4 or 5 of them on the 2 entry points
folded 7 times at 25 m length - a crowding control measure) and all around us
in the stadium. They are predictable, when Brazil or Argentina is not
there, they are for Japan or France or Germany, as the case may be. Underdogs
have hardly any Malayalee support, unless there is a rare rebel.
In spite of it being November, one third of the
open roofed Ahmed Bin Ali stadium had to bear the searing heat of the afternoon
sun. All were provided with comfortable white caps. Otherwise, the 44000
capacity stadium was comfortably cool.
The opening is as ceremonious as any solemn
liturgy. About 100 bearers (including 4 to 8 women – appeared more like a
measure to ensure that they were also there) solemnly bring the rolled up flags
of FIFA and the two contesting nations, they take positions in a predetermined
order, and the banners are spread out on the floor in a very impressive &
precise manner. Then there is the solemn entry of the huge replica of the FIFA
cup, which by now has become almost an idol of grave adoration. (It is taken
around the world as if a religious relic is being taken around for veneration,
all across. People line up hours to have a darshan of it, in the preannounced
venues – for a view of it, a picture with it! It has become almost a cult). A set of men in
black bring this huge cup on wheels, to the centre of the FIFA banner. Then the
national anthems of the contesting nations are sung, with the teams having
lined up. The items of veneration are now withdrawn solemnly, the game starts
off precisely on the scheduled time. I follow the huge golden replica, and then
find that, once brought back, the ‘shiny golden piece’ is deflated to keep it
safe, revealing its metal!
Initially you could observe only the Japanese
white & blue, with some islands of the Costarican red. But once the only
goal of the match netted towards last quarter of the game, the red became all
on a sudden visible everywhere! Perhaps success does have many fathers!
Through the 2 afternoon hours, though my eyes became heavy, giving me some
additional rest, I was fortunate to grasp the glimpse of that sole goal of
the game.
But the Japanese held the sway all through the
game, except for netting the vital goal! They also stole the hearts of
the audience by stopping by all the four sides of the ground, and bowing to the
audience in the typical Japanese style, whereas the winners were not to be seen
anywhere.
Come interval - the turf is thoroughly examined
after a liberal dose of sprinkling of water - someone tells it is all as per
the standards prescribed by FIFA - the natural grass, its thickness, the mode
of maintaining it etc...Foot by foot the ground is examined and maintenance
done before the game resumes.
Green messages appear during the break. There
are volunteers deputed to remind the fans regarding trash disposal. Some
of the spectators make an attempt to clear the rubbish around their seats -
Malayalees and Japanese including... But still it is littered, and requires
purposeful waste clearance (which is in place) before the next game on the
venue, which takes a place after giving sufficient time for all such details.
The game management gas consciously made an effort to paint it green (though it
is almost green washing, the effort is laudable. Even the alleged giant
polluter Coco Coal is towing the line)!
In the stadium clean toilets are in adequate
number and access is free. But a more vital stuff, drinking water can be
obtained only if you pay ten times that of the market rate; and you are not
permitted to bring water or food of any sort. I feel a provision of free
drinking water at the venues would have been a more meaningful addition to
Qatar's efforts on the green and human rights fronts.
The presence of trained security men (and some
women as well) is visible all around. Every gate of entry, of every level
is further subdivided into sections, each of which is monitored by at least 2
security men - dressed in black with their shirts having shoulder badges - one
blue and the other red; and invariably having the reflective yellow
jacket. Certain areas are formed into a human wall by the volunteers, to
guide the participants in the right track! The amount of human resources
involved is indeed mind boggling.
Out of the stadium there are bands playing and
dancing - Middle eastern, Latin American, Black, Japanese... There is a band
dancing on huge stilts to some tune. At one stadium, it was
Malayalee parakottu, at another, it was a Srilankan traditional art
form, with full make-up and costumes! Everyone is trying to make it a big perunnal or utsavam.
The circuitous routing of the spectators lead
them along the numerous food stalls of Mall of Qatar and a good number of them
are induced to stop over and grab something, after almost 5 hours of imposed
fast and tremendous work out of almost 10000 steps in all. The Qatar 2022 fans
are almost forced into a fitness programme! The organisers indeed host a
programme in that connection, named 'Walk the Talk' with WHO, to inspire people
to walk (at least 3 kilometers). The novel idea to convert some of the
very busy streets into a totally pedestrian zone, I consider a bold one, and a
right one.
The public transport is for the first time fully functional in Doha -
otherwise, it was nobody's concern - generally people have their own
conveyance, or the hired employees are generally given transportation to work
site. But, with the world cup, and the public transport - buses, trams
and metro rail made (almost) free - the insistence on Hayya card appears to
have waned out - and record numbers have been using them; making access to all
the venues faster, easier and free from traffic jams (In Qatar, traffic jams
have not yet become a major traffic nuisance). They all radiate energy
and are throbbing with enthusiasm. Sometimes, the otherwise quiet metro
zones boom with sloganeering - I get an odd feeling of being in the college,
with the SFI/KSU slogans in the air - here it is for Canada or for Iran or for
Saudi Arabia; but thankfully sans any animosity or acrimony that accompanies
the college sloganeering I have experienced.
I meet 3 of the Rajagiri teachers who have
enlisted to be the volunteers for the world cup, all dressed up in the Qatar
2022 uniform (There are several cadres, sporting different types of
uniform). After the tiring day's work of directing or guiding people,
their face radiate happiness and satisfaction - doing something different,
meaningful, being part of the mega event, and perhaps even getting compensated
in more than one way! They say, it was the best vacation ever!
When compared to the huge Lusail stadium, here
you are much closer to the ground, with a rather clear vision of the players.
Heartian Alan has taken the trouble to use his skill to reserve tickets for
many in his circle thus providing quite a number of Malayalees (including me)
an opportunity to be part of the world up at the most affordable rate of QR
40. According to him, this world cup has several unique features - one
being the world cup watched by most number of Malayalees,😁 and most
number of people from our Perumanoor parish😆(We both belong there, and in addition, watching the world cup are
Alan's wife and his parents!!!!
Thank you പ്രശാന്ത് ഭാരത് യാത്ര എന്നും കാണും താങ്കളുടെ ഏകാങ്ക യാത്രയും... രൂപത്തിലും ഭാവത്തിലും ലക്ഷ്യത്തിലും ചില സദൃശ്യങ്ങൾ..... പിന്നെ " Ellam എല്ലാം .. " ആലപിച്ച മേഘ ബി അനിൽന്റ ആദ്യസംരംഭംമാണ് ... അച്ചന്റ നേതൃത്വത്തിലുള്ള ഈ സോഷ്യൽ ഗ്രൂപ്പ് ആയിരങ്ങൾക്ക് അവതരണഅനുഭവം നൽകുന്നു.. പ്രോത്സാഹ നങ്ങൾക്ക് നന്ദി..📡z🙏🕊️ സെഡ്.
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