There are more than 3000 restaurants serving Indian and Kerala cuisine in Doha city
“It is a great honor to be able to take the field in the World Cup final on a day when the whole world is watching. This opportunity came only because I could live in Qatar. I don’t think this kind of opportunity would have been possible if this World Cup was held in India,” said Kavita, one of FIFA’s Malayali women volunteers who was chosen to conduct the pre-kick-off ceremony in the World Cup final.
Like Kavita, there are hundreds of Malayalis who have become part of the world football giant just because they were allowed to live in Qatar. Malayalees are abundant in FIFA volunteer centers, fan zones, police and security departments. Malayali fan groups came to welcome and welcome the stars and teams including Messi and Neymar with mela, kolkali and mappilapattu.
The Qatar World Cup is actually the Malayali World Cup. First FIFA World Cup where Malayalees are present from ball pickers to high level organizing committee office. While anti-Qatar campaigns are going on all over Europe, Malayali fan groups have created a festive atmosphere by raising World Cup excitement on the streets of Qatar.
No other World Cup in FIFA history has seen such a large participation of immigrants. Apart from that, Qatar 2022 will also be the first World Cup where Malayalees will rock the galleries. Qatar hopes that the World Cup with the active participation of South Asians will be a unique experience in the history of FIFA.
Indians number one among volunteers
FIFA has officially informed that Indians make up the majority of the 20,000 volunteers selected for deployment in stadiums, fan zones and special events. Apart from those living in Qatar, the volunteers were selected by inviting applications from 159 countries and conducting interviews. The Indian people in Qatar have undertaken this work with little reward with great enthusiasm.
Malayalee women volunteers Jumana, Archana and Sabna consider it a great fortune to be a part of the games eagerly awaited by football lovers around the world. They will be on the ground during the games at Aljanub Stadium, the finals at Lusail Stadium and before the ceremonies before the start of the game.
Some volunteers take up to a month off work to be part of the World Cup. Volunteers can be seen in stadiums, fan zones, airports and metro bus stations. 150 volunteers can be part of the ceremonies before the match in the stadiums.
After Indians, Filipinos have the highest number of volunteers. Although the campaigns against Qatar are strong in Europe, there are also volunteers from countries such as Russia, Switzerland, France and Germany in Doha.
Malayali Players Management Support
Malayalis are also present in the logistics management team to handle the baggage of the teams and players. GWC, the giants in the warehousing field, has brought in hundreds of Malayalis on a three-month contract basis. One of them is Jenin Jensen, a native of Thrissur. 41 people, including Jenin, arrived in Doha in the same flight from Kochi in late October. The recruitment is on contract for three months.
“Only yesterday we could know which team we are working with. “I love being able to see Messi and Di Maria in person and be with them,” said Argentina fan Janine.
Apart from the Malayalis, Indians from states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have also come for temporary work in the logistics team on contract terms. Their main job is to transport the luggage and equipment of players and teams from their accommodation to the grounds.
There are many Malayalees in heaven and earth
The government has employed hundreds of Indians as temporary workers in the road transport and aviation sectors in recent months. Qatar Airways has brought more than 600 Indians to the posts from ground handling to pilot for the World Cup alone. An estimated 1,500 Indians have arrived in Qatar in recent months to drive players and teams and to act as public transport drivers for spectators.
“Newcomers like us get confused when we see roads leading in different directions from the same point. But there is no danger of going wrong as the pilot follows the vehicle in a row,” said Salam, a resident of Malappuram who came to drive the bus that transports the teams. Salam, who is looking for job as a long distance bus driver in Kerala, asking when such roads can be expected in Kerala.
Malayalam itself in fan clubs and rallies
The fan clubs of major Doha teams like France, Belgium, Argentina, Brazil, Germany and England are also dominated by Malayalees. Coordinator Babu Kalamthi says 50 of the 64 members of the Belgian team’s official fan club are Malayalis. He said there were plans for the Belgian team to drum in the gallery and perform at various events across the city in Belgian shirts.
The condition of other teams’ fan clubs is almost the same. Argentina and Brazil fan clubs have more members. There are also predominantly Malayalee groups. In the past few days, the rallies organized for the Argentina, Brazil and Qatar teams in the fan zones were packed with Indians, including hundreds of Malayalis.
Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Germany…whatever the team, Malayalee fans join the fan rallies with mela, kolkali and folk songs.
The huge fan rally organized by the Malayalees for the Qatar team on Lucille Boulevard was a surprise to the football world. Thousands of people, including children and women, have joined the rally of supporters.
Malayali touch in the promotional songs too
There are many promotional songs prepared by Malayalees in the name of Qatar World Cup. Many people release their own promotional songs in Arabic and English languages. The lyrics of the promotional song in Arabic and Malayalam released by Qatar Youth Choir and Qatar Music Academy were prepared by Shafi Mundotil, a Bengali, and Leon, from South Africa.
Shafi Mundotil says that the lyrics of the song called ‘It is a Beautiful Game’ were prepared with great joy. “The lyrics were written in the hope of being included on the official song list of the tournament. “I’m happy that the YouTube song is trending now,” said Shafi.
Delicious fan zone with porota
Apart from entertainment, FIFA Fan Zones have also become a place to serve the tastes of many countries. Along with African, Asian, European and Latin American dishes, Malayalee Porotta and Biryani are available in fan zones.
Each fan zone has restaurants and cafes for fans from different countries. Apart from this, more than three thousand restaurants including Indian and Kerala are waiting for food lovers in the city of Doha.
The city’s biggest fan zones, the Katara Cultural Center and Souq Waqif, have European and Latin American fans flocking to eat porottas and Kerala dishes, restaurant staff said.
Mohammad Salih, a restaurant operator at Sooq Waqif, said that since the fans of the festival started coming, people from different countries come looking for our special fish and manti dishes.
Dishes like porota, kizhi porota and beef are also in high demand. Rifan, a worker, says there is a long queue of people of different nationalities at night to buy live porota in Katara.
With only hours left for the final whistle of the World Cup, the world is watching the Malayalee’s football enthusiasm through the streets of Qatar. Malayalee football fever is traveling in Latin America, Europe and Africa by playing chendakotti and kolkali with the players.
