Most notable "Where is Messi? We broke his eye"The chants of the Saudi fans stole the spotlight in the World Cup in Qatar

With new and unique chants of encouragement that mixed the Arab, European and Latin methods, the Saudi fans stole the spotlight in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, whether in the World Cup stadiums, or the areas of events and tourist places, thanks to their continuous support and support for their country’s national team, despite its farewell to the World Cup in the first round.

The banning of loudspeakers by FIFA in the World Cup stadiums made the Saudi fans engage in a new experience of chanting, based on collective rather than individual encouragement through huge loudspeakers, as is the case in most Gulf stadiums.

For the success of the new experiment, the Saudi National Team Fans Association was keen to merge more than one song by Al-Akhdar into one song, but with different rhythms, and it was recorded and sent to the members of the Association in order to preserve it and get used to repeating it collectively.

The songs of support for the Saudi national team have a long history, starting with “God, God, our team” by artist Talal Salameh, which coincided with Al-Akhdar’s participation in the 1984 Asian Nations, and even “Our Green Pride” by artist Muhammad Abdo and artist Omaima Talib during the current Qatar World Cup.

A member of the Saudi Audience Council, Faisal Al-Dosari, explains that the presence of the Saudi fans in the World Cup in Qatar was distinguished, whether inside or outside the stadiums, and presented an honorable image of the Saudi citizen that reflects the Saudi culture and identity in particular, and the Arab one in general.

The stands rejoiced, the stadium shook with one voice, with chants #Saudi team 🇸🇦📢
Save the songs, the time is up to you ⏰#in front of pic.twitter.com/DZNSNxYbiA

– The Saudi National Team Fans Council 🦅 (@SaudiNTFans) November 19, 2022

Collective joke

Al-Dosari says in a statement to Al-Jazeera Net that the Saudi fans are accustomed to the huge loudspeakers and the traditional rhythms that are known to them, but in the World Cup Qatar they went through a new and different experience in encouragement, in light of the prevention of loudspeakers from entering the stadiums.

He adds that the association prepared a group of the national team’s songs and combined them into one collective song, and experimented on them with the members of the Green League on an ongoing basis a month before the start of the World Cup.

A large group of the Saudi National Team Fans Association, including 50 mass leaders, trained in more than one color and rhythm of support and support and more than one method. In addition to the traditional and popular methods, European and Latin methods were relied upon, so that the masses would not tire of cheering, according to Al-Dosari.

Al-Dosari believes that the new experience has encountered some problems. Because the Saudi masses are not accustomed to the collective chants of Europeans and Latinos, however, the Saudis’ wit and improvisation in various situations received wide reactions and great interaction.

Al-Dosari stresses that the experience of the Saudi fans in the World Cup is unique, and we will work to implement it in the stadiums in Saudi Arabia, relying on collective encouragement, not individual, or based on a specific category, so that we can see the beauty of the stadiums, in light of the participation of all fans in the encouragement.

Salem Wayne

The Saudis’ chants – in addition to their unique chants based on improvisation and thundering words expressing positions, whether inside or outside the stadium – constituted a mixture of great interaction and humor in the World Cup, with which the various fans of the participating teams interacted, and repeated them in different ways.

Saudi chants are organized before tournaments to motivate players to fight on the field and be brave in the face of competitors, but the chants are made by the fans in the stadium, and they have been very popular throughout the ages, and the last of them was the chant of “Messi, where are we…we broke his eye,” after the victory over Argentina (2-1). .

From the presence of Saudi fans in Doha to support our national team against Mexico#Saudi_Mexico #With _ you _ green
pic.twitter.com/NnxWsU5sdD

– Hashtag Al-Arab (@TheArabHash) November 30, 2022

The Saudi chants were widely spread among the masses in the World Cup in Qatar, which was evident in the cheers of the Arab masses. The Moroccan fans chanted, “Lukaku, where are you? Wayne…we broke his eye.”

The Saudi chants did not stop with the Arabs only, but became a joke used by the Argentine fans to respond to Saudi Arabia after its loss to Poland, and chanted, “Salem Wayne…we broke his eye.”

In the match between Saudi Arabia and Poland, the fans chanted new slogans. The most prominent of which is “This Polish… his job is mine.” However, this chant did not become widespread after Al-Akhdar lost 2-0 in this match.

Saudi fans 🇸🇦 and encourage them in #Doha_Metro #Saudi_Musquik #World_Cup_Qatar_2022 #FIFAWorldCupQatar2022 pic.twitter.com/OMR2xxacoh

– Khaled Jassim (@khalidjassem74) November 30, 2022

Historic cheers

In Saudi Arabia’s last match against Mexico, the fans used their historical chants, “O Saudi, we have come…and the victory, God willing, is ours,” and “God, God, our team…God willing, our hope will be fulfilled” and “Play, Saudi, your fans are behind you…the entire stadium shook tonight for you.” .

The chants and chants of the Saudi fans were not only inside the stadiums, but also spread widely in various regions of Doha, especially in the areas of the Saudi House on the Doha Corniche, and the historic Souq Waqif, the most famous tourist attraction in Qatar.

And the beautiful situation created by the Saudi masses in the Qatari street during the World Cup, made them rank first among the fans of the various teams participating in the event, and made the Qataris relate to them, and launch campaigns through social media, to close the borders to the Saudi fans, and their stay in Doha throughout the World Cup period.

Qatari youth for the Saudi audience:

Do not leave Qatar, you are honey, and your presence revives the place 🇸🇦🇶🇦pic.twitter.com/sMUlHPhmkc

– Gorgeous (@gorgeous4ew) December 1, 2022

Many Qatari citizens published videos on social media, praising the Saudi fans in Doha, and calling for them to stay in the country during the World Cup, noting the distinguished atmosphere they created in the global event, and expressing their sadness over the early exit of the Greens.

During the Qatar World Cup, the famous singer Muhammad Abdo – accompanied by the artist Omaima Talib – presented the song “Our Green Pride”, written by Prince Abdul Rahman bin Musaed, to support the players, while the Saudi Football Association released the official song for the national team entitled “We are all green.”