To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Qatari supporters march in Doha on Friday.
By Toru Moriyasu / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
15:07 JST, November 19, 2022
DOHA — Throngs of football supporters from Qatar and overseas filled Doha’s largest market on Friday ahead of the start of the 2022 World Cup, which kicks off Sunday.
Lined with stores selling spices and traditional clothing, Souq Waqif is one of Qatar’s most popular tourist attractions.
On Friday, many visitors were clad in the jerseys of participating countries including Qatar, Brazil and Morocco, and some were carrying their national flags.
Among the fans gathered in the market square were more than 100 supporters of Cameroon, which did not play in the last two World Cups.
The Cameroon fans danced to the sound of vuvuzela horns. “For us, this is the festival we have been waiting eight years for,” supporter Thinda Yannick Tano said.
“I’ve never seen such excitement,” said market worker Ibrahim Hussain. “We won’t be bored for a while.”
Qatar faces Ecuador in the opening match, which kicks off at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday.
