My FIFA Journey
When I was in still in the Philippines, I had known already that FIFA World Cup 2022 will be held in Qatar. On October 7, 2021, I arrived at Qatar for work purposes for a three-year period. A heightened excitement runs through my veins as the event draws near. During the FIFA season, all schools in Qatar would be closed and that means that our last day of school would be November 17, 2022, and the opening of FIFA WC 2022 would be on November 20, 2022, at Al Bayt Stadium.
As early as September of 2022, I and some colleagues did apply as FIFA Volunteer but after knowing that we will not receive a salary, we opted to withdraw. What we’ve done next was to visit some agencies advertising for some hospitality and logistic works affiliated by FIFA. Since my interest was working in a bar, I decided to apply as a barman. I even influenced my friends to accept the offer as barman. We accepted the offer by Inspire Training Management as barman as they are specializing on hospitality management. With that, after signing the contract, we were required to attend session and trainings for food and beverages handling. Our trainer Miss Yogi was so effective and inspiring.
The next step we’ve done was undergoing a medical procedure. I passed the medical exam together with my colleagues and we were then given a uniform plus the medical certificate that would certainly grant us the access to the stadium and be allowed to serve the international guests.
A night before the FIFA World Cup opening, I and my friends Loida and Mark went to 900 Park Doha to watch the interesting views. And as we go home, we made ourselves ready for the next day’s big event.
On November 20, 2022, our call time was 10am. We were then transported to Al Bayt Stadium and reach the location about 11 in the morning. Two-way pass was then issued to each of us after two hours. We felt the sun burned our skin after long hours of waiting outside. At 2 pm we were allowed to enter the Workforce Entrance for security checking. Again, we were made to wait for another hour before we were finally able to enter the stadium. We finally settled in our assigned area at 3pm and waited for the guests to arrive. From 3-6pm, we served the guests with beverage that they want. It was the starting point where I see a lot of foreign nationals although I am accustomed to it back when I was in Saudi Arabia.
At 6pm, that was the time that we were allowed to eat food since the guests had been watching the match. We ate hurriedly to prepare for the influx return of the guests during the halftime. I took a glimpse of Jungkook’s performance through a tv screen only without volume, but I was fully aware of what was he singing since the release of the official theme has dominated the airwaves already. We were then required by our floor supervisor to report on our station and continue with our work.
During that moment, I gained friendships with my co-barmen and other food servers. It was a nice moment since I appreciate the approachable attitudes of my supervisors. There are many supervisors to deal with. Luckily, all of them were easy to work with.
We were released by our coordinator at exactly 10:30pm for the next day’s duty at 974. I reached home at 12am. The next morning, we were required to report at 974 around 9am. There was a bus fetching us at Al Rayyan Al Qadeem and there were only four of us in the bus. We reached the 974 stadium and had to clean all the utensils since there was no match that day at 974. It was prepared for the next day’s match wherein we were again assigned there to work as barman. During my first work as a barman at 974, our guests were the Mexicans whom I fondly regarded as the friendliest peoples. They look like an upgraded Filipino. Why do I love the Mexicans? First, I am heavily influenced by Thalia, a Mexican superstar who dominated the Philippine television in the 90’s and early 2000’s. I was never wrong with my admiration to them since my guests were very friendly. Added to that, they were very generous in giving tip.
I had a supervisor named Miss A, whom I am quite upset with. She was always scolding us, the barman as if we were robots and should do what she wanted accordingly. My point was, if ever she wanted us to learn something, why didn’t just she teach us about it. Human as I am, it is just normal to feel pain, and anger towards her for the maltreatment and humiliation I received.
I am a fan of team Argentina ever since I got interested with football back in 2013 when I arrived at Saudi Arabia. I do not play but I just love watching my students play football and sometimes when they submit an essay, most of them would write about their favorite football stars like Leonil Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. I felt the same thing along with the worldwide fans back in 2016 when Messi announced that he would no longer be playing in international football due to multiple losses. Thankfully, he was convinced to play once more. In 2018 FIFA World Cup, team Argentine lost to France during the round of 16, dropping their hopes to the Finals.
Until they won the COPA Americana trophy in 2021 and the much-coveted world cup trophy during the FIFA. Qatar has indeed successfully hosted to one of the biggest events in the world. I, myself had been truly enjoying and entertained by the dazzling array of performing stars who rendered a stunning performance at the FIFA Fan Festival at Al Bida Park. I had personally seen the performances by Julian Marley, The Uprising Band, Myrath, Paul van Dyk, and Sean Paul.
During the Finals, I was not able to watch the match at the big screen at FIFA Fan Festival due to multitude of fans already inside. What I could hear was the loud screaming of fans whenever Argentine team scores. I, together with my friend Marque, was only seated at the nearby entrance and looked only at the mobile screen of a guy who was also denied entrance. The game ended and I went home extremely happy for the result. When I arrived home, the Argentine celebrations continued, and I was able to watch the live broadcast. They were paraded at Lusail Boulevard and throng of supporters showed their admiration and congratulatory remarks. Meanwhile, at Messi’s hometown, millions of Argentine people celebrated the winnings of Argentina at the FIFA World Cup 2022.
I wish it had not come to an end!