The traditional Arab outfit has given a special imprint to the fans of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is being held in Qatar, especially as the fans put their touches on it by decorating it with the flags of their countries and the slogans of their national teams.
The masses coming from all over the world grabbed attention by wearing the headband, ghutra and dishdasha in the various regions of Qatar and while they were in stadiums, stands and public squares.
The “ghutra” is a white cloth made of light cotton that is folded into a triangle and placed on the head. It is fixed by the “agal”, which resembles black ropes that take a circular shape. The “dishdasha” is the traditional Arab robe.
World Cup fans made colorful pictures in the streets and stands in Qatar, wearing Arab uniforms in the colors of their national teams.
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Perhaps what increased the masses’ demand for this outfit is that the official mascot of the World Cup, “La’eeb”, symbolized the ghutra and the headband, so that it can be seen everywhere in the streets of Doha.
Social networking sites were crowded with pictures of fans of different nationalities wearing the ghutra and headband.
** amulet “to defect”
The mascot of the Qatar World Cup “La’ib” is a model of the Arab costume, and refers to a white ghutra with a smiling face hanging from the ropes of the headband.
Fans were keen to take souvenir photos with the championship mascot, whose figures are spread all over the country through posters, paintings, statues and cartoons.
Security personnel and Qatari and Gulf nationals help the fans to wear the Arab dress and fix the headdress and headband properly.
Inside metro stations, shopping malls and crowd areas, ghutra and headbands are sold with the flags of the most famous teams such as Brazil, Argentina and Spain.
In another aspect of the foreign fans’ attempts to get acquainted with the rituals of the Arab country, many of them began trying to learn and repeat Arabic words such as “thank you”, “God willing”, “yes” and “no”, which are pronounced with a noticeable accent in public transport vehicles. .
** “I loved Arab culture”
“The tournament went very well,” said Brazilian fan Rafael Rocha, who wore the ghutra in Brazil’s last match against Cameroon.
“It’s a great mix of culture and the World Cup. I wore a ghutra for this. The food is good. I liked the Arab culture a lot. I went to the museum, the stadiums and the matches are good. Everything is really fine,” Rocha told Anadolu Agency.
“I hope we go as far as we can. We can play our best game,” said the Brazilian fan, who expressed his hope for his country to win the title.
Asked who he would like Brazil to face in the final, Rocha said: “Maybe England. It’s not an easy team. But I think they have the best chance in the other half of the match. France is also a strong opponent, but England are more prepared.”
** Increasing demand
Local clothing sellers are happy to welcome foreign fans to buy their goods.
“Foreign football fans have shown great interest in local clothes. We sell 600 ghutra a day,” said Sourav Balkil, a salesman in an Arab clothing store.
Balkil added, “The first few days of the World Cup were quiet, but with the progress of the matches, and the arrival of fans to Qatar, the markets revived.”
He was surprised by the interest of the Mexican public in particular in buying Arab clothes.
