Football fans in Syria watch the 2022 World Cup at cafes or via mobile applications

On Dec 6, 2022

This year, most football fans in Syria have no chance to watch matches of the 2022 World Cup being held in Qatar via television at their homes due to Fifa copyrights sold to particular channels only and coercive sanctions that have resulted in load shedding.

So fans choose either to go to cafes after they finish their work at night to watch live matches via T.V. on “Bien” sports channel or to use YouTube to watch recorded matches .

The third available choice that most fans use as it can be used anywhere (In shops, buses, homes, offices..etc..) is installing free mobile applications (such as Yacine tv or Drama live)The problem is that it requires high speed internet and a continuously fully charged mobile charged to watch live the matches they are interested in.

In this context, the two mobile operators in Syria (Syriatel and MTN) offer paid IShow service, which is similar to the IPTV service for the channels that broadcast the matches.

The offers in this service are as follows:

800 Syrian Pounds for 2 hours, valid for one day.
1750 Syrian Pounds for 12 hours, valid for 7 days.
6000 Syrian Pounds for 100 hours, valid for 30 days.

These offers, which are considered as the best and the cheapest in comparison with the prices of inverters or batteries in the light of the acute economic situation which the country is going through, have not attracted the young fans, who prefer to watch matches live on T.V. at cafes.

Anwar Al-Masri,a 20-year-old university student, prefers to go to café near his home and to pay 10.000 Syrian Pounds to watch a match because he enjoys the environment of motivation.

“My friends and I motivate each other and we enjoy the best performance in matches, we hardly find a boring moment, particularly during the closing minutes. It raises our adrenaline, and we feel the highest level of excitement,” he told Syria Times.

Afaf,a 27- year-old lady, whose favorite team is Argentina, told us:” I prefer to watch matches live on T.V. because it is much more interesting since you do not know the result….I Try not to miss any match in which Argentina is playing although I leave my place of work at 7:00 pm.”

An owner of a café in Damascus said: “ All tables are being reserved in the café , especially when Brazil or Arab teams are playing.. Each person pays 2000 Syrian Pounds to watch the match here; however in other cafés the fans pay SYP10,000 or SYP 50,000. “

In the old city of Damascus, cafes are making offers to attract fans, who like to put on tables the flag of the team they motivate.

One of these offers is paying SYP 12,000 for watching the match and ordering 2 hot drinks.

There are also prizes for the fans of the winning team.

Actually, it is hard to define the percentage of the Syrian people who are watching the World Cup.

Many people whom we interviewed told us that this year they are not interested in watching the World Cup since it is being held in Qatar, which has been involved in the war on Syria.

This viewpoint does not mean that those who are watching the matches are on the wrong side, simply because their main goal is just to watch matches regardless of the place in which it is held.

In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 64 matches are being played in 29 days through to the final on Dec. 18.

Round of 16 results so far:
– Netherlands beat USA 3-1
– Argentina beat Australia 2-1
– France beat Poland 3-1
– England beat Senegal 3-0
– Croatia beat Japan 3-1 on penalties (1-1 after full time and extra time)
– Brazil beat South Korea 4-1

Round of 16 matches left to play:
– Morocco vs Spain
– Portugal vs Switzerland

What the Quarter-Final line-up is looking like right now:
– December 9, Friday (8:30 PM IST) – Croatia vs Brazil
– December 10, Saturday (12:30 AM IST) – Netherlands vs Argentina
– December 10, Saturday (8:30 PM IST) – TBD vs TBD
– December 11, Sunday (12:30 AM IST) – England vs France

World Cup titles won by teams still in the fray:
Argentina – 2 titles (1978 & 1986)
France – 2 titles (1998 & 2018)
Brazil – 5 titles (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
Spain – 1 title (2010)
England – 1 title (1966)
Netherlands – 0 titles
Morocco – 0 titles
Portugal – 0 titles
Switzerland – 0 titles
Croatia – 0 titles

Reported by: Basma Qaddour