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Upper Batley High school
"Astounding, thrilling and exceptional" are some of the words which has defined the Qatar World Cup 2022. Since Fifa awarded the Middle Eastern country to host the global football event in December 2010, there had been lots of excitement and preparations the nation needed to complete. This was the first Arab country to ever host the huge event.
Following the euphoria and success of the tournament, won by Argentina, Fifa President Gianni Infantino said that “everyone around the world has really embraced this World Cup.”
Dedicated football fans descended on the Gulf State in November and December to get behind and cheer on their favourite football team. One of the fortunate ones to witness and experience this was Shamoon Hafez.
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| After completing work at the World Cup final between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium |
He is a BBC Sport Journalist who reported coverage on 22 matches of the World Cup. After returning from Qatar, I had the opportunity to interview Mr Hafez and asked him about his 34-day trip and how he found the once in a lifetime experience.
“Since I found out the great news in November 2021, the excitement grew as the tournament was approaching closer and closer," he said. He described the atmosphere in Qatar as a "festival" where fans from all over the world came together embracing the local culture by visiting souks, drinking the local teas and smoking shisha.
While supporters back home tuned in to watch their footballing heroes, Shamoon had already began preparations on the night's action by arriving at the stadium four hours prior to kick-off. He would speak to fans to get their opinions, emotions and predictions for the upcoming match and provide colour to add to his report to ensure the readers are provided with much detail.
Two hours before kick-off, Shamoon would arrive at the media centre to carry out match prep, including statistics and familiarise himself on themes around the game. Team news for the forthcoming game dropped around one-and-a-half hours before kick-off.
During the match, all the journalists who were reporting would update the live text on BBC Sport's homepage, filing some colour and ensure that the first report is completed by the full-time whistle. The second section of the report was then completed with quotes that were spoken during the press conference.
There were many highlights Shamoon mentioned of the Qatar trip. Top of the list was when he was in the same room as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the post-match news conference. He had a chance to speak to Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk, Memphis Depay and Nathan Ake, as well as Morocco's Achraf Hakimi in the mixed zone (the interview area).
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| TV credit after the final, pointed out by one year old Zahra Hafez |
Also, during the opening ceremony, family and friends sent Shamoon recordings of BBC presenter Gary Lineker, who mentioned his article ‘Into Qatar a journey to explore a nation’s relationship with football’, which was published on BBC Sport.
“I was very surprised, especially when I wasn’t aware it was going to be brought up,” said Shamoon. Another moment he will remember was witnessing Morocco reaching the semi-final, the first African team to achieve it in World Cup history. Jubilant and proud fans added to the thrilling atmosphere at Al Bayt stadium.
Millions watched Argentina’s Messi achieving his childhood dream and lifelong ambition of winning the prestigious tournament. My final question to Shamoon was “would you say this is the same for you attending and reporting on this World Cup?”
He replied: “At the age of 35, both myself and Messi won the World Cup. He lifted the trophy and I have achieved my dream by attending the tournament. This was the peak of my career and the best thing I’m likely to do.”
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