ALTHOUGH Saudi Arabia has not really been able to take any positive strides in this year’s World Cup but the tournament itself has taken enormous leaps in capturing and engulfing the hearts and minds of many Saudis, especially Saudi women and those who generally do not enjoy the subtleties that the beautiful game of soccer incorporates.
What made this World Cup beautiful, besides the perfect timing and location, were the surprises that soccer has in store. The World Cup tournament is definitely not a Piñata but it still continues to surprise, amaze and amuse soccer fans across the world.
In Saudi Arabia people have been very enthusiastic about this year’s World Cup. With an aim of ensuring they get a chance to watch matches, people have been going to extremes just to make sure they don’t miss a thing.
Noticeably, people who generally don’t watch soccer found themselves tempted to watch the tournament as everybody in the Kingdom became enwrapped in World Cup mania and began spending their time talking about matches, players and coaches.
Interestingly, Saudi women were also found to be cheering, celebrating and gathering at homes, restaurants and coffee shops across the Kingdom. Like other supporters when the Saudi national team was playing, Saudi women were seen dressed in green from head to toe. And as the Saudi team’s World Cup aspirations came to a dramatic close, Saudis were not stopped from enjoying each and every moment the World Cup had to offer until the final moment as Italy bid France farewell in Berlin.
It didn’t matter who was playing, people were still watching and celebrating the tournament each day. When it was Argentine playing, white and blue striped football tops could be seen in Saudi streets and coffee shops. When Italy was playing, youngsters, dads, youths and women were wearing Italian jerseys.
During the Saudi and Spain match, one of the Saudi fans, Ramzi Mohammed, aged 34, who travelled 8 hours by car from London to Kaiserslautern was selected as ‘Fan of the Match’ by FIFA as announced on the FIFA World Cup website. A clear indication of the way soccer-mania has gripped the Saudi people.
College student Ferdous Abbar, 20, said that Saudi women had become more interested in football because of the World Cup. Ferdous says she has even hired a soccer field to play with her friends and that during the tournament all the girls at her college spent their time just talking about the previous night’s match.
Though it is very early, Abbar and her friends are already researching the best places to stay in the 2010 South African World Cup.
For the sake of the World Cup, Saudis even postponed weddings, vacations and trips. Some people even arrived at funerals late because of the World Cup. In fact some brides found it rather insulting when their grooms asked their weddings to be postponed by a couple of days until the World Cup draws to a close.
Likewise, many Saudi wives have found it frustrating that their husbands have committed themselves to spending their evenings and days watching the World Cup and following sports commentators on television. Plasma screens and huge massive LCD screen strangely become immensely popular finding their way into many Saudi houses, restaurants and coffee shops in the Kingdom.
As the final match ended on Sunday June 9, a date that will be marked in history, Zinedine Zidane’s Saudi fans were shouting Zezou in support of him and in recognition of him being a legendary footballer or a second Pele as many claim. He may have spoiled it a little at the end but everyone still loves him and admires him. Viva Italia and thank you Zidane for the joy you brought to viewers of the World Cup.