The Spanish colony in Doha organized via WhatsApp and Facebook groups to massively attend Spain’s debut. With the victory, the party was complete
Fifteen minutes from the Al Thumama stadium is a small residential area with earth-colored terraced villas, a quiet neighborhood that saw the peace during the siesta this Wednesday. Suddenly the car’s horns and a scandal of voices and screams began to be heard. The tumult was so great that many began to come out of their homes to see what was going on. Outside, a group of people dressed in red, small at first, then very numerous, began to gather to go together to the Al Thumama stadium. The epicenter of the gathering was the home of Eva, one of nearly 2,000 Spaniards registered in Qatar. Given the proximity of his hometown to the stage of Spain’s debut, he decided to offer it as a meeting place. The response was massive.
Doha residents have been preparing for their World Cup for weeks. They have organized WhatsApp and Facebook groups from which they inform each other about entering the stadiums or buying tickets. From there they also entered into talks with the Federation to open the doors in one of the training sessions. The highlight was this meeting to experience the premiere.
Three hours before the start, on the edge of Eva’s house, it was a beehive of people dressed in red that people just wouldn’t stop. The neighbors answered on their mobile phones and cheered for Spain too. At the appointed time, the noisy parade to the stadium began, with nearly a thousand fans already in procession. Architects, pilots, engineers or teachers who set up their life project in Qatar. “Say that we live very well here, that everything is not so bad as they paint it,” they urged the journalist, a little tired of the vision that is transferred to the world of the country that welcomed them. “Not everything is perfect, we know that, but we live completely normal lives. Qatar needs time to adapt to today’s world, as Spain did not so long ago.
As Eva said, Al Thumama appeared on the horizon barely ten minutes into the march and the demonstration stood in front of the colossal circular stadium chanting “I’m Spanish, Spanish, Spanish” and “Go for them, oh.”
Within the field, the Spaniards were mostly behind the goal defended by Keylor Navas. From that background came the sound of trumpets, a kind of vuvuzelas with a deeper tone. There they also sang the first three goals to the rhythm of Raphael. Together with the rest who arrived from Spain on various charter flights, and those who seemed scattered in other parts of a field that was not full, the number of Spaniards reached almost 4,000. They will be more against Germany next Sunday, although Spain is still a long way from the convocation power that other teams have, especially Americans.
Not even the throbbing Luis Enrique, who took advantage of every goal to call up one or two players and give personal instructions. Then he greeted the stands with a big smile on his face.
Suddenly the stands began to thunder: “Mexico, Mexico!”, another sign that the tentacles of the most numerous fans in Qatar are reaching every corner of the World Cup. Neither the Spaniards nor the Ticos liked the surrealism of the scene, who responded to the Central Americans with loud whistles.
In the second half it was difficult to warm up, but the start was explosive again. The bugles sounded loud and the crowd tuned in to the new wave of goals. The game ended with the shouting of “Spain, Spain!”, the “olés” for the players and Rosalía’s thunderous music in Al Thumama’s recesses. The party logically continued at Eva’s house. From now on official meeting point of the Spanish fan in Doha.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
