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The Saudi and Omani fans added a wonderful festive atmosphere to their opening match at Khalifa International Stadium, within the sixth group matches of the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup, which ended with a late victory for Al-Akhdar (2-1).
The festive atmosphere was dominated by humor, in light of the cohesion between the fans of the two countries, and the fun skirmishes, whether with humor and threats on the field or with patriotic songs of encouragement for each team.
In one connection, the Saudi and Omani fans roamed the stadium together before the match, and exchanged chants and skirmishes, which they described as humorous and witty, after the Omani fans chanted, “One, two, where has the kabsa gone?” to which the Saudi fans responded by chanting, “One, two, where has the candy gone?” .
The Saudi and Omani fans appeared organized in their encouragement, whether before or during the match, through the association of each team. The Saudi fans appeared with new and unique chants of encouragement that mixed Arab, European and Latin methods, based on collective rather than individual encouragement.
The fans combined more than one Al-Akhdar song into one chant, but with different rhythms. They also used their historical chants, “Oh Saudi, we have come… and victory, God willing, is for us,” and “God, God, our team… God willing, our hope will come true” and “Play, Saudi, your fans are behind you.” “The whole stadium shook tonight.”
Fantasy atmosphere
Saudi fan Abdul Rahman Al-Harbi explains that the crowd atmosphere in his country and Oman’s match was fantastic and more than wonderful, as it brought to mind some of the atmosphere of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Al-Harbi told Al-Jazeera Net that the Saudi and Omani fans are brothers, and the atmosphere between them before, during and after the match was very special, in light of the light-hearted sports skirmishes that were dominated by a sense of humor, such as “One, two, where did the candy go?” and “One, two, where did the kabsa go?” “.
“The Saudi public is a donation for the tournament, as it is estimated at about 30,000 fans.” With these words, Al-Harbi described the huge numbers of Saudis who attended the tournament, noting that he arrived on January 11, attended the opening match, and reserved two seats to return on February 10, One seat for him and the other for the championship cup, in reference to the Saudi team winning the Asian Cup.
As for Saudi fan Hussein Ali – who did not sleep for 24 hours to attend his country’s match against Oman – he believes that there is a great understanding between the Saudi and Omani fans, which was evident in the cohesion whether before or after the match, despite the exciting atmosphere that the fans experienced in the stadium until the last minutes.
Hussein told Al Jazeera Net that the crowd atmosphere before the match was beautiful, and there was no fanaticism, but there were sports chants expressing love among the fans, including “The green one does not walk” and “The red one does not walk.”
The distinctive crowd atmosphere continued in the match stadium, where all the fans supported their team and players until the end of the match, and everyone came out in a friendly manner regardless of the result, according to Al-Harbi, who hoped that the two teams would qualify for the second round and continue their journey in the tournament until the advanced stages.
Hussein, who lives in the Saudi city of Al-Ahsa, took two hours to reach Doha, where he left work directly to catch the match, then return to prepare for work the next day. He says that this trip will be repeated with every match for Al-Akhdar in the tournament until he reaches the final, in which he hopes his country will be present and win the title. .
I made the event
On the other hand, the Omani fans stood out with their distinctive chants and songs that filled the stadium, as they continued to chant from the beginning of the match until the end without stopping to encourage and support, even in difficult times.
Peace, love and brotherhood everywhere is the slogan of the Omani National Team Association, which it uses in encouragement through many distinctive songs and chants that indicate the heritage and personality of the Omani, the most famous of which are the slogans “Two swords and an Omani dagger” and “Omani do not play with it”, in addition to relying on traditional Omani arts such as The art of raza, medima and chobani.
Omani fan Abdul Rahman Al Ameri considers that the Omani and Saudi chants are the most prominent in encouragement in football stadiums, as each of them has a distinctive style of support and support during matches, especially the Omani chant of “two swords and a dagger” and “Omani, do not play with him.”
Al-Amiri told Al-Jazeera that the Omani and Saudi fans created the event during their match by opening their campaign in the Asian Championship, with chants and songs of support, as well as the pre-match clashes and sports skirmishes in the humorous mutual chants.
He added that despite the competition on the field and the fluctuation of the result, the fans of the two teams continued to support their teams, whether they were losing or winning, with chants and special songs, until the match ended and everyone left in love and affection, with the loser congratulating the winner, and the winner wishing the loser success in the next.
Al-Amiri says: I arrived last Thursday and attended the opening ceremony and the matches of the Arab teams. I will leave the day after tomorrow, Thursday, and will return again to attend the next two matches of my country’s national team. The Omani fans who came to Doha are estimated at about 15,000 fans.
As for the Omani fan, Ali Al Balushi, he confirmed that he did not expect such a large number of Omani fans to attend, but their presence with the Saudi fans gave the match between the two teams a special atmosphere, just as the atmosphere was in the World Cup a year ago.
Al-Balushi told Al-Jazeera Net that the atmosphere between the fans of Oman and Saudi Arabia was beautiful, especially since there is a distinctive cohesion between the fans of the two countries as they are Arab and Gulf peoples, and “sport brings us together with love and sportsmanship.”
He adds that he intends to stay in Doha throughout the tournament, in order to support his country’s team, as well as all the Arab teams participating in this event, “because we are brothers and Arabs.”
The Omani fan concluded by saying, “I enjoyed a lot of the fans’ mutual cheers, the healthy skirmishes, and the lightheartedness between them before the match. It was enjoyable, just like the match was, and that is the sweetness of football in the encouragement and improvisation among the fans.”
