Doha: The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has come and gone, but the memories and impact of the first tournament of its kind to be held in the Middle East and on Arab soil will continue to linger for years to come.
To say that the tournament, which has been widely acknowledged to be the best so far, was a resounding success will be an understatement.
The organisers promised amazing, and amazing indeed they delivered, thanks to the unparallel commitment and the undeniable sense of patriotism exhibited by everyone who handled one responsibility or the other during the one-month long event, which concluded on December 18 with Argentina's victory over France at the iconic Lusail Stadium in Lusail.
For Al Kass Sports TV presenter and reporter, Abdulrahman Saleh Al-Ashqar, covering the World Cup was an experience of a lifetime and one that he has not recovered from over two weeks after it ended.
"I think I would be speaking the mind of everyone who was involved in the World Cup if I said that there has never been any event like it in Qatar and that its impressions will remain indelible in the hearts and minds of everyone involved for a long time to come," he said.
"Despite the level of preparation, no one could have anticipated the level of success recorded both on and off the pitch." It was like everything, including nature, cooperated with Qatar to make Qatar 2022 a remarkable tournament. "It was beyond what anyone could have fathomed," Al-Ashqar added.
Speaking about his personal experience of the World Cup, the TV presenter, who also works as a network engineer with one of the government agencies, said that one of the most memorable moments for him was when the video of his interview with some Brazilian fans after their match against Cameroon became an internet sensation in Brazil.
"That video made me famous." I was just doing my job, doing interviews after the match against Cameroon, and someone posted the video online. Within 24 hours, it began to trend, and it had almost three million views, with most of them coming from Brazil. "I soon became verified on Instagram, and at the moment, the video has had over five million views," he noted.
Al-Ashqar, who also doubled as a radio presenter on Qatar Media Corporation's HolaQatar Radio during the tournament, added that he was particularly impressed with the behavior of the millions of fans from all over the world who descended on Qatar for the Mondial.
"As someone who had to do numerous live interviews with several people from different countries during the tournament, there were no untoward experiences or bad behavior exhibited by any of the interviewees." The fans feel relaxed and at home in Qatar, and that makes my work easier. "Of course, there were some overexcited fans, but nothing beyond what was expected," he said.
On how he found himself working with Qatar's first Spanish radio station for the tournament despite not being a native Spanish speaker, the Qatari presenter said that his passion to learn new languages and his restless spirit contributed to him being where he is today career-wise.
"The story of my Spanish learning started in 2018 when I decided to learn the language. I never anticipated or thought that a Spanish radio station would eventually be established, but I fell in love with the language and was determined to master it. I first started my lessons at the Qatar Foundation before I decided to travel to Spain, first to Madrid and then later to Malaga, to study the language at my own expense," he said.
He noted that his trip to Malaga for a month, where he decided to mix with the people and learn from the street, contributed greatly to his mastering of the language.
"When I came back from Malaga, I understood that they were recruiting for the soon-to-be established Spanish radio station, HolaQatar, and someone mentioned my name; I was invited for the interview, and the rest, as they say, is now history. I would say that my interest and passion paid off, and I couldn't have traded the experience I had both on the radio and on Al Kass TV during the World Cup for anything else in the world," Al-Ashqar said.
When asked about his proudest moment in Qatar 2022, the Qatari media personality said that it was the day an elderly woman from Saudi Arabia accosted him while he was doing a live program and told him that she had just arrived in Qatar for the World Cup just because of his program.
"I met an elderly Saudi Arabian woman who was almost my mother's age and who said she had just arrived in Qatar to watch the World Cup because she had watched me on TV in Saudi while doing a program on Al Kass TV called "The Majlis," where I was talking about Qatari cuisine. "It was so touching, and I had to specifically request an interview with her," he said.
Al-Ashqar, who is still basking in the glory of a successful World Cup, said he looks forward to covering more World Cups in the future while working more on polishing his language skills and doing his best to keep promoting Qatar as much as he can.
