(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) As the world braces up for the fifa world cup tonight kt takes a look at the dubai scene.
vuvuzelas in hand check. honorary draping of the home colours check. ready to hashtag those token disappointed tweets? check. whether a lover of football or not there’s no escaping the world cup hype over the past few weeks. so as brazil and croatia kick off proceedings later tonight khaleej times goes out and about in dubai to see what all the fuss is about.
malls and shops have been prompt in feeding the football craze in the country weeks ahead of the much-awaited 2014 fifa world cup that kicks off in brazil tonight. here are a few of the scenes in and around dubai. — kt photos by juidin bernarrd
personally the mere mention of football turns into a vague white noise in the space between my ears but from gawdy merchandise giveaways at the local fastfood favourite to combo deals and competitions it seems everyone and every place in dubai is getting on board the world cup mania train.
noted as the biggest single-event sporting competition in the world the fifa world cup has been played every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930 — barring 1942 and 1946 due to the second world war.
who’ll be tuning in?
with brazil playing host this year after bagging the winning vote in 2002 more than 700 million people will tune in to their tvs to watch 64 games lasting 90 minutes apiece — excluding extra time or penalty shoot-out of course. but one person who won’t be among those 700 million is dubai resident akousa nkansah.
“i’m not into the whole football thing. i think the atmosphere will be good around dubai but i won’t be changing my schedule to watch any of the matches. i grew up in the uk but my family is from ghana originally so i’ll be cheering for my home country but ask me who plays for the team and i’d struggle to tell you” 28-year-old nkansah said.
picture gallery: the fifa world cup fever hits uae
in a country where expatriates make up about 90 per cent of the total population the chances of bumping into a native from one of the 32 participating countries is quite likely so how will you be celebrating?
mitch freely 26 hails from the uk but has been living in qatar for six months. with friends and family based in dubai his dedication to “the game” goes above and beyond most around the world and he has taken leave from work to join the celebrations in dubai.
“i’m your cliché man who loves football. i’m really excited for the world cup in brazil and for me it will be interesting to see england’s young team take to the field” he told khaleej times.
but instead of backing his home team freeley predicts a brazil-argentina final and says he is looking forward to immersing himself into the world of football for the next month where he’ll be watching most of the games from the comfort of his friend’s living room.
although freeley is choosing to watch the tournament with friends and family new global research by robert half suggests that watching the big game with colleagues could lead to increased camaraderie and team spirit in the workplace. nearly 77 per cent of global workers think so too.
football mania sweeps dubai
with sports shops throughout dubai’s iconic malls dedicating multi-square-foot spaces to everything football from world cup jerseys to official fifa balls food and drink establishments around the city have adorned their walls and ceilings in world cup paraphernalia too. queue tacky decorations.
“we’ve covered the bar in bunting and flags we’ve got several world cup related promotions on food and drink and we’ll be showing the games on two big projector screens” the palm’s bidi bondi manager told khaleej times.
and those who spend more than dh350 on one visit will automatically be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win a vip table for four for the big final he said with food and drink thrown in for good measure.
but for those who consider themselves hardcore football fans the nezesaussi grill located in downtown’s al manzil hotel is the place to be according to restaurant manager johnathan gard.
“we’ve got 14 screens we’ve decorated the place with all the home flags and jerseys and we’ll have combo deals on food and drink too.”
with a late license till 4am drinks being served till 3am and food till 1am the popular sports bar will be showing every game apart from the ivory coast versus japan game on june 14 due to a 5am start.
“we’ll also be giving away an awesome world cup trophy replica we purchased so if you’re feeling lucky just drop your business card into one of our fish bowls.”
so as the madness begins who will you be cheering for? i’m no expert but my money is on brazil so let the games begin. ole ola!
kelly?khaleejtimes.com
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