The FIFA World Cup brings people together in an atmosphere of passion and diversity like no other major event.

There’s something about the FIFA World Cup that makes even the most unenthused about sports become football fans for 30 days. It brings people together in an atmosphere of passion and diversity like no other major event.

Usually it also comes with life-long football fans who make fun of those jumping on the band-wagon every four years. I’ve watched club football consistently for five years, but never got as excited about the World Cup until South Africa in 2010.

The game that hooked me was the Uruguay vs Netherlands semi-final, where I rooted for the underdog, although they eventually lost. Fast-forward four years where I had to think about the FIFA World Cup in a work capacity, as I boarded a plane to Sao Paulo for an observation trip that sent well over 100 employees from the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) and stakeholder employees to Brazil 2014.

We were so engrossed in documenting everything for the observation records and for social media that we got used to being yelled at to drop our phones/iPads/cameras in order to remember to experience the FIFA World Cup, Rio de Janeiro, and to have conversations with the people from Brazil and those who had travelled just to attend a match.

Two of those people were a couple from Hungary who spent months trying to secure tickets and finally, via FIFA’s official website, got tickets to go to the quarter-finals. While waiting for a connecting flight from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo, they asked us where we were from. Like most of those we met, they knew very little about Qatar and only what the media has been saying regarding Qatar 2022. They turned out to be huge world travellers and two of the most interesting people we had ever met; they are now planning to visit Qatar for the first time to “decide for ourselves what our opinion will be”.

Another “experience” moment was at 6:30am at the Copacabana beach where Fatma al-Nuaimi, human and social legacy manager at the SC, gave us a lesson  in clearing our minds and taking in the view and the moment. “Close your eyes, clear your heads and think of nothing but what you want the future to look like.”

A “breakout star” on our observation trip was the selfie stick provided by Fatma Fakhro, non-competition venues director at the SC. Fakhro is someone we call “one of the originals” – who has been working on Qatar 2022 since the start with other members of the Executive Management. She shared stories and shared the selfie stick, which was the main reason for some of the amazing photographs taken of observers at matches and landmark sites. Most of photos taken with the stick were joined by random photo-bombers, namely the Chilean fans (Chi chi chi – le’ le’ le’! – a chant taught to us by the incomparable Chilean fans).

During our time in Rio, we managed to attend three games in the group stages including Spain vs Chile (where we were taught the chant), Russia vs Belgium and France vs Ecuador. Regardless of city morale, problems with city branding and football quality (which are all important factors), what made the trip for me was the fan experience.

I had expected a difference with FIFA World Cup games, but I had never quite imagined the experience of having a city become generous and welcoming, all for the love of the sport.

The great thing about staying at a hotel on the legendary Copacabana beach is that even if you tried your hardest, you couldn’t escape the FIFA World Cup atmosphere that was the Official FIFA Fan Fest, which was right outside our front door. Brazil games (which also became National holidays) were the days when walking past the Fan Fest or any public road was impossible. The country shuts down.

I was surprised by the importance of nation building, both physically and emotionally. A great initiative by Brazil was the FIFA Festival for Hope, which was an initiative created by the city hall to get local children from poorer areas more involved in sports.

As part of the delegation, we were privileged to visit the mayor’s office, the governor’s office, the Local Organising Committee and the International Broadcast Centre (IBC).

One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the IBC, which was located at Rio Exhibition Centre, taking up three buildings, both temporary and permanent. The legacy of what became the IBC was that the wood that is used for the temporary infrastructure is to be given to the poorer communities for the building of new homes.

There were a range of studios for broadcasters such as beIN SPORTS, Fox Sports and ESPN. For those with limited rights, there were booths with noise cancellation. Incredibly, beIN Sports had 500 journalists alone, all over Rio, including a studio overlooking the Copacabana beach. It is estimated that there were 70,000 hours of stories being edited around the FIFA World Cup.

The HBS representative with us on the IBC tour mentioned that the most important component of a successful tournament is good football and the friendliness of people. It became clear to everyone that the stories coming out of the IBC around all things FIFA World Cup-related became the most important in determining Brazil’s legacy. At one of the many meetings during our 10-day trip to Brazil, several people reiterated that the positive implications for the city and the country are after the tournament ends. During the 30 days, the tournament is for FIFA and fans.

The trip ended with a conversation on the flight home with one of the cabin crew (Diego from Brazil) about the difference between a FIFA World Cup in Brazil and one in Qatar. Diego shared his experience flying with the Brazilian national team from Doha to Sao Paulo during a trip two years ago for an international friendly. “I remember they said how amazing the World Cup would be in Qatar,” he concluded.

He left me thinking that the FIFA World Cup truly affects everyone, but that we can decide on how we want it to be told.

 

*Shaikha al-Thani was part of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy’s observation programme in Brazil this summer.

 

 

 

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