Impossible to miss them in the streets of Doha and around the stadiums. Of the thirty-two countries competing in the World Cup, Saudi Arabia is probably the one with the most supporters present in Qatar. A hundred thousand, two hundred thousand? Hard to know. Supporters of the Green Falcons, the nickname of the national team, are so numerous that they have a dedicated fan zone, the “Saudi House”, installed on the edge of Doha Bay, on a lawn as big as two pitches. of football.
They can be recognized by their all-green banner – stamped with a verse from the Koran –, by their gigantic green balloon, in the shape of a football shirt, which they often drag with them and by the mocking apostrophe which they shout at everything. short story, since their resounding victory, 2-1, over Argentina: “But where is Messi? » “The Saudis love football, love their country and love to show it, that’s why we are making a lot of noise in this World Cup”explains Nasser, a professor of biology, who drove seven hours from Riyadh to attend the tournament.
Probably because he was expecting a humiliating defeat, like the 5-0 conceded against Russia at the opening of the 2018 World Cup, Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman, known as “MBS”, a strong man of the crown, did not attended the match against Argentina, yet entered the annals of Saudi football. To make up for it, King Salman’s son gave the people of the kingdom a day off.
Stadium culture and separate codes
The Saudis’ inaugural coup was followed by an honorable defeat against Poland on Saturday, November 26, with a score of 2-0. The Green Falcons will therefore play their qualification for the round of 16 on Wednesday against Mexico. This match should give Saudi fans the opportunity to once again demonstrate their talent as “ambients”, in the worthy tradition of the twelfth man. Their delegation has a core of ultras, experienced in the animation of the stands. The “Aish Salman! » (“Long live Salman”), a tribute to the king, and “Foq Am Al-Sahab! » (“Above the clouds”), two of their rallying cries, should resonate in the huge Lusail stadium.
The kingdom’s geographical proximity to Qatar and its demographic size (30 million inhabitants) partly explain the strike force of Saudi supporters. But two other factors are important: the long history of football in this country, where the first club was created in 1927, even before the foundation of the kingdom, proclaimed five years later; and the development within the male population of a true stadium culture, with its own codes.
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