Surrounded by former Green Falcons stars Nawaf Al-Tmiat and Manaf Abu Shukair, as well as the singer of the song “Play with art.. Saudi Arabia, for the sake of the nation.. Saudi Arabia, God is God, our team”, the voice of cheerleader Saleh Al -Karney played at the Education City stadium in Qatar. The terraces are covered in green and white.

Saleh, who had previously chanted the name of Nawaf and Manaf from the stands, received two-star applause as he held an encouraging rehearsal from the field, where his country’s second match in the 2002 World Cup against Poland will take place on November 26.

Unlike the showdown with Poland, Saudi Arabia will open their matches at the Lusail Stadium on November 22 against Argentina, and will also face Mexico at the same stadium at the end of the first round matches.

Saudi Arabia participates in the World Cup for the sixth time after 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2018, most notably in 1994 when it reached the second round and lost to Sweden 1-3.

– He missed a single World Cup –

Saleh, 61, an Al-Ittihad fan, traveled from Jeddah to Doha to inquire about special conditions and arrangements with fans in neighboring countries, where the World Cup Organizing Committee organized an event that was attended by several fans, in addition to attending Qatari football star Khaled Salman and Omani goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi.

Al-Qarni, who started in the stands in 1983, confirms to AFP that he has accompanied Al-Akhdar to all previous World Championships except the 1994 World Championship “due to special family circumstances that prevented me from traveling to the United States.” . .”

He came in his white dress, white sports cap and believed that “the Saudi audience plays a good role in motivation, and it will certainly play a big role, because the tournament is taking place in neighboring Qatar.”

After Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of rapprochement with Iran and supporting extremist Islamic groups, which Doha denied. In January 2021, Saudi Arabia announced the restoration of full-fledged relations between the boycotting countries and Qatar after the Gulf Summit in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia.

Importance of family presence

Former Al-Hilal player and national team star Nawaf Al-Timyat agrees with Al-Karni that hosting the World Cup in Qatar brings many positives for the Saudi national team, including the intensity of the public presence.

Nawaf, 46, who has worn the Saudi Arabia jersey at three World Cups (1998, 2002 and 2006), says: “High crowds will give the players great morale. also on training grounds.

Temyat, AFC Player of the Year 2000, notes that the presence of family in the stands is also important: “Feeling the support of the family in the stands gives you a very strong motivation.”

– The ball takes all the time –

Saleh believes that the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the last World Cup that Al-Timyat participated in, was the best option he personally attended for the national team: “He was the best in terms of results, attendance and outstanding players.”

Then Saudi Arabia tied with Tunisia 2:2 and lost to Ukraine 0:4 and Spain 0:1.

Al-Qarni Al-Ittihad, a passion that went against the guidance of his Al-Ahly brothers, dwells on the Saudi public’s passion for football, speaking in his Jeddavi accent: “By God, football takes all the time, but of course time must be devoted to the family.

“On the day of a match, preparation takes up most of our time,” he added.

Al-Qarni smiles as he talks about his family: “My kids always lean towards me and when I get home, my job is to get them out of the stadium atmosphere and mitigate the impact of defeat (if it happens).”

– “from 10 to 15,000 spectators” –

Saleh, like his Fan Association colleagues, is optimistic about the number of fans who will come to Qatar: “According to what we have been told, the conditions for visiting do not seem difficult, especially for fans from the eastern region (near the land border with Qatar). ), and the game has a lot of support from the Federation of Saudi Arabia.”

“We are here to know all the terms of handing it over to a Saudi fan,” Saleh says, expecting between 10,000 and 15,000 spectators to attend every match during the World Cup.

Saudi Airlines CEO Ibrahim Koshy has announced that in addition to the land borders that will see an organized influx of fans, the company will operate at least 30 round trip flights a day from Riyadh and Jeddah to transport around 10,000 fans. , in addition to flights from other GCC countries via Kuwait Airways, Fly Dubai and Oman Air.