Qatari Football Fans Rock to European Championship Tune

Doha, June 24 (QNA) - There is a buzz of excitement among the dozen Qataris assembled in the sky-blue coloured majlis (sitting area) in Doha's plush residential locality called Dafna. The assembly comprising young men in the 22 to 32 age group animatedly discuss the prospects of France's chances against Vicente Del Bosque's seemingly unstoppable Spanish juggernaut as well the points they accumulated in Euro Fantasy, the popular virtual game on Uefa.com's fan zone. Sporadically the sub groups within the gathering pause conversations and stand up as Abdulla Ali Al Mawlawi, the host, welcomes other guests trickling in to watch the European Championship quarter-final on the 46 inch Samsung television. The guests are well attended to by a steward who serves them coffiee, the traditional Arabian tea. He serves kadak chai (strong Indian tea) to the Asian men in the majlis. The spectators' roar inside the Donbass Arena in Donetsk then drowns guests chatter. It's the referee's whistle signalling the start of the match. Most of the guests at the Majlis are rooting for Spain. The assembly gets animated every time Iniesta and Fabregas move forward with ball into the French defence which looks tentative for the first 23 minutes of the game. The Spaniards stamp their authority as feared by the French coach. Their worst fears come true in the 19th minutes with Jordi Alba moves up from the left flank, manoeuvres past two defenders and shoots an aerial cross to the unmarked Xabi Alonso who powerfully heads the ball, one bounce past the goal-keeper into the left corner of the post. The majils roars and claps. Some shout "mabrook, mabrook..." (congrats) repeatedly. One of the guests Ali, a Civil Engineering student at Leeds University, UK, doesn't seem to be emotionally involved in the game compared to his friends. "My favourite team Italy is playing tomorrow. The Azzurris rock," he says. Al Mawlawi is as involved in the game as much as he is in playing the good host since the first day of the Euro 2012 championship. As the game nears half-time, he passes out sandwiches, shawarmas, barbecue chicken, cold drinks and French fries. The last item on the menu metaphorically sums up the French team's plight against the marauding Spaniards. "Their performance so far tonight demonstrates why the Spanish team is so keenly followed, not just by Qataris but by fans all over the world. Their standard is very high," says Al Mawlawi. The 29-year-old Computer Science graduate who works for Qatar MICE Development Institute, a Qatar Foundation joint venture, as Marketing Manager, Public Relations and Advertising, is passionate about football. So much that he created a website called qatarfootball.com eight years ago. "The website is in Arabic language and it is a forum for football fans to interact, share their opinions and discuss team and player prospects for major tournaments like the World Cup and the European Championship," Mawlawi explains. "Our majlis is a bit different from the other football fan majlises because, besides watching the live action we simultaneously play Euro Fantasy, Uefa.com's official online game in the fan club section. In fact, during the pre-quarter-final stage my group of friends would arrive after the Magreb prayer and stay on to watch both the matches. "The Euro Fantasy is an exciting virtual game where gamers can choose their own 15 players within the budget of 100 Million euros. Each player has price based on his reputation. A gamer can select players from any of the Euro 2012 participating teams. Each gamer has to select two goalkeepers, five defenders, five midfielders and three forwards. "If the real player scores a goal in a Euro 2012 match then, if the gamer has this player in his team then he gets five points. If a player receives a yellow or red card then you lose one and three points. The higher your points after each match, the higher is your rank. "More than half a million gamers worldwide and a little less than 1,000 from Qatar are playing Euro Fantasy. My website members also have their own groups in the Euro Fantasy. Most of my friends are Real Madrid or Barcelona fans, so they have included players from these teams in their Fantasy game." Mohammed Al Najjar is currently number one in Qatar with over 200 points. "This is game is interesting because one has to have knowledge about the teams, the players, their form and violations," says Al Najjar. "Like you cannot select a player in your playing eleven if has received a red card and suspended. You have to watch all the matches to choose your best team," adds the Qatar Petroleum, Health, Safety and Environment department executive. "If you are playing Euro Fantasy game in the semi-final stage then you would note that Spain's Sergio Ramos received a yellow card in the 31st minute," he says and adds, "the game is not about guessing. One has to be a dedicated follower and be well informed." In the majlis are two former club level football players. Jassim, who played for Al Kharaitiyat Club, is injured and has one of his legs in plaster, but seemed in no discomfort and was enjoying the game and the banter among friends. Seated next to him was Fetah who earlier played form Al Shahaniya Club. "Who do you think will figure in the final of the European Championship?" one of the Asian guests asks Jassim. "The final will be between Spain and Italy," he replies. He repeats the same question to Fetah. He pauses, thinks and then says, "France". Clearly his mind was not on the game. The Frenchmen were playing catch-up throughout the match except between the 50th and 65th minutes when Frank Ribery and Yohan Cabaye showed sparks of individual brilliance to surprise the Spaniards. That was too good to last. While Alonso completed France's disappointing night by converting the penalty in the 90th minute, Al Mawlawi's guests start to disperse after yet another evening of high football action. (QNA)