Despite loss, Saudi Arabia scores big at World Cup
In Qatar, a sprawling 18,000 square-meter Saudi House — a large exhibition pavilion erected on Doha’s waterfront — seems to flex the kingdom’s soft-power muscles, as Saudi tries to shake off its ultra-conservative image.
DOHA, Qatar — As a brimming oil economy looking to diversify its future revenue sources, and a country that is fiercely trying to shake off its past ultra-conservative authoritarian image that has elicited global outrage, Saudi Arabia has gained much from a World Cup in next-door Qatar and is now flirting with the prospect of bidding to host the 2030 FIFA tournament along with Egypt and Greece.
A series of events, some by design and others by luck, have favored Saudi Arabia in the Qatar World Cup that concludes on Sunday. The kingdom's team beat a World Cup finalist, Argentina, in an early group stage. With their costumes, face paint and zeal, Saudi fans have shown they are no less spirited than those in Latin America or Europe. Even after the Green Falcons’ early exit, Saudi fans, many of them women who have only recently been allowed into stadiums, continued to cheer for many other teams, including Morocco.
In the final match, they may cheer for Argentina, whose star Lionel Messi is their tourism brand ambassador.
While the latest figures are not yet out, Saudi residents are some of the top ticket buyers after Qatar and the United States.
