World Cup fans show their colours in the streets of Doha
With the start of the World Cup just over a week away, international fans have already begun descending on Doha and are mixing in with local fans who are picking their favourite squads to support.
On Friday (November 11), fans, many of them Indian migrants living in Qatar, donned the colours of their favourite teams and took to the streets of Doha to show their support.
The Brazil fan contingent claims to be the largest in Qatar and they did not disappoint as they marched near the National Museum of Qatar dressed in Brazilian green and yellow. Fans even had a life-size cutout of Brazil megastar Neymar Jr.
Among the Brazil supporters was Sergio Pereira who came from Brazil to cheer on his side.
Pereira called on more international fans to make their way to Qatar saying it has all the trappings to be, “one of the best World Cups ever.”
And he should know, Pereira told Reuters the World Cup in Qatar will be the 10th he has come to in support of his home country.
“This has all the elements to be one of the best World Cups ever. So, come. If you haven’t decided to come to Qatar, there’s still time to come, because the people are nice, the infrastructure is beautiful. The spirit of the game is all around us.” said Pereira
Brazil’s South American rivals Argentina also had a large contingent in the streets on Friday.
Rashad Pilakkal, who is originally from India and has been living in Qatar for the last nine years, said he expects Lionel Messi and company to pull it out of the bag this year.
“Definitely, the champions will be Argentina! Vamos, vamos, Argentina,” Pilakkal said.
The French Football Fans Club India also brought together a group of fans hoping to see the defending champions claim the crown again while another group of fans came out in support of Tunisia.
Qatar will open the World Cup tournament when they face Ecuador on November 20.
