The 2022 World Cup which was held in Doha, Qatar recently ended. The winner of the World Cup was Argentina. I watched it live as Argentinian fans cheered for their home country, I myself could not help but to cheer alongside them. Living in Doha, I have noticed that football brings a sort of unity among every person regardless of age, gender, or race.
Every nation in the world is brought to a place to celebrate and support their national team. The effort that the supporters had to show up in their best outfits to support one of 32 countries was amazing. Several supporters wore their traditional outfits, and a couple even wore the Qatari thobe with their countries flag on it. It shows that football is not just about the game, it’s about passion. The mascot of the World Cup emphasizes that part. La’eeb means a super skilled player in Arabic, everyone is free to interpret what it is, but in my perspective it means that everyone is skilled in their own way. Everybody has a skill and passion, and they need to develop it. Football is just a source of unleashing the hidden potential that everyone has.
My home country never qualified for the World Cup, though I felt included as I supported another country without being their citizen. It’s that sense of welcomeness and friendliness that has made football one of the most popular sports in the world. It’s inclusiveness to people that are able or people that have disabilities. Furthermore, it unites people in passion, because people around the world can share the same interest and feel included. The World Cup is about peace. Countries settle their differences and unify everybody in hope. Hope of the world settling in agreement for just a couple of weeks. Lastly, it unites everybody with joy of seeing their idols win.
