The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022’s closing ceremony, which was held at Lusail Stadium and featured the crowning of the Argentine football team by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, attracted a lot of media attention because Qatar had promised that this World Cup would be an exceptional and historic edition whose influence and legacy would last throughout history.
Wide sections of Gulf, Arab, and international newspapers and media were devoted to covering the ceremony, which attracted attention from all over the world and generated extensive media interaction.
International media unanimously agreed that Qatar has the right to be proud of what it has provided and achieved in presenting an exceptional version of the World Cup that will remain engraved over time.
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For its part, the Saudi newspaper “Al-Riyadh” said in its editorial that it is almost the strongest and most beautiful version of the World Cup since its inception, which was hosted by the sisterly State of Qatar, in an amazing global demonstration and which witnessed admiration and fascination from all over the world.
The newspaper added, “It was not wrong to describe football as a ‘crazy’ game, as it is capable of making everyone gather around the screens to watch it and enjoy its magic away from the identity conflict. The desire for fun for football is what the followers agree on inside or outside the stadium.”
The newspaper concluded by emphasizing the great impact of this World Cup culturally and humanly, and it was even an opportunity for sociological researchers to read about this important global phenomenon, dismantling this event and reading it scientifically, and drawing conclusions that can be used in probing the cultures and civilizations in terms of anthropology and others.
The Omani newspaper Al-Ruya wrote on its front page, “Messi the legend of Argentina… and Qatar dazzled the world,” that Lusail Stadium witnessed a crazy match between the Argentine national team and the French national team in the final of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which ended with a penalty shootout in favor of the tango dancers for the third time in their history.
While the Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Qabas, focused on the World Cup final, writing, “Argentina…the dream has come true”…the Argentine national team won the title for the third time in its history by defeating France.”
It added, “Lusail Stadium is decorated at the end of the tournament, with the attendance of more than 88,000 spectators, led by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and senior guests.
The Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Rai, confirmed in its editorial that Qatar World Cup is the most luxurious, organized and attractive event, and Qatar offered the fans the ability to attend two or even three matches per day in the beginning of the tournament, with full logistical facilities of services and infrastructure, not to mention the splendor of the stadiums and the smoothness of their paths, as 80,000 people exited the stands within minutes without any stampede incident.
The newspaper praised Qatar’s managing of all the attacks that targeted it in an elegant manner, refusing to be drawn into linguistic polemics, and the real and effective Qatari response was to focus on completing the path of football and sports success in parallel with calling for a cultural and human rapprochement among the peoples of the world, stressing that Qatar gave lessons, on how to “get the job done” with impressive ability, and proved that adherence to customs and traditions does not preclude success in organizing a huge global event, but rather that commitment was a source of richness, integration and interaction.
The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa wrote, on its front page “The Great Final … Argentina”, praising the closing ceremony of the Qatar World Cup competitions with a wonderful ceremony in front of the fans in the stadium with the participation of a group of singers, where the ceremony lasted 15 minutes, in the presence of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the French President Emmanuel Macron, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
For its part, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida said, that Qatar, an Arab Gulf Muslim country boldly bids to host the World Cup, enters into fierce competition with large countries such as the United States, South Korea and Australia, and then wins the confidence of FIFA, and win the honor of hosting the World Cup.
Al-Jarida expressed its congratulations to Qatar, and said, “We say congratulations to Qatar, and congratulations to HH the Amir, the government and the people of Qatar, for that civilized leap, congratulations for their elaborate work, their tireless pursuit, and their overcoming all difficulties, congratulations for their success despite criticisms and slanders.”
For its part, the Algerian newspaper elDjoumhouria wrote an article under the title:” Qatar succeeds in organizing the best version ever of world cup… Record numbers and historic crowd attendance”, in which the newspaper said that after one month of competitions between the 32 teams participating in the most powerful soccer tournament in the world, one of the most successful versions of world cup tournaments in history has ended on Sunday since its launch in 1930, whose games coincided with the national day of the State of Qatar to be historically associated with an exceptional day for Qatar.
The newspaper added that the tournament conclusion was perfect for this gulf Arab state that achieved unprecedented successes and historic figures that will remain eternal in the history of the tournament, starting from the first record-breaking number, in terms of the impressive revenues that amounted to USD 7.5 billion with an increase of USD 1 billion compared to the previous version in 2018 that was held in Russia.
On the other hand, Tunisian (TAP) news agency stated that the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 that was held at Lusail Stadium before the launch of the final match between France and Argentine teams witnessed an artistic performance that combined transition from antiquity and heritage to modernity and cosmopolitanism, through showcasing artistic paintings and music performances characterized by impressiveness and artistic creativity, adding that the ceremony was an opportunity for Qatar to thank the entire world after hosting an exceptional and unique world cup tournament which broke the records and left indelible memories for the world.
The Tunisian News Agency pointed out that the closing ceremony of the world cup witnessed the honoring of reproachment of world nations in 29 days during the tournament period, starting from the opening ceremony until the last salute in the midst of a musical mix of songs from the official lyric album of the tournament.
TAP concluded that the design and the unique creative style of lighting in Lusail Stadium prompted dazzling vibes and creativity in the closing ceremony culminating in unveiling in the official music of the world cup finals that carries the name of “One Day” performed by Dana Al Fardan, and upon her emergence, the fans surrounded the edge of the pitch and an exciting light projection show was played across the pitch. The performance was “about love and peace and that we are all a small part of a giant universe”.
Under the title: ” We would not say Goodbye to Qatar.. But always remain with Arab creativity”, the Writer Wassim Sabra wrote in the Lebanese Al Liwa Newspaper by saying that he was certain and assured that Qatar would organize one of the vital world cups throughout the history.
He confirmed that the people of Qatar has succeeded in curbing the fierce campaigns that tried to undermine the hosting of this event by an Arab and Islamic state to thwart its aims, not only this, but the tournament was transformed by a divine wisdom into a message that uncovers who are the people of right, and exposes the delusions of the falsehood group.
He underlined that such tournament will never be replicated, not only by its dazzling organizational success, but in terms of the humanitarian and supreme message it carried that took its way from the goodness of Doha, the beloved gulf to all territories of the planet.
The Lebanese Addiyar Newspaper said that the eyes of millions of soccer fans worldwide headed towards Lusail Stadium to watch the dazzling ceremony held by the host country at the conclusion of the World Cup, adding that the corners of Lusail Stadium were filled with fans of the Argentine and French national teams, while the main cabin was filled with illustrious sports, art and businessmen stars.
The closing ceremony started with incredible performance in a form of sea to demonstrate Qatar’s connection to the sea world throughout its history which highlighted this distinct work, the newspaper said, indicating that the ceremony witnessed a collection of music from the official songs of the tournament that were directly performed in front of the fans.
Additionally, MTV Lebanon emphasized that all visitors to Qatar took advantage of the wide range of activities available there between the sea and the desert, such as diving and falconry, and that the TV camera visited many tourist attractions that wowed the audience during the episodes dedicated to the tournament, especially since many of them were unaware of these tourist landmarks. They also learned that the Qatari people are kind, have preserved their culture, customs, and traditions, and have presented them to the world in a way that has completely changed other people’s perceptions.
