Here’s a numerical representation of my time in Qatar at the 2022 World Cup:
3,000,000 Population of Qatar
315,000 Qatari citizens (that’s correct – Less than 15% of people living in Qatar are citizens. The rest are immigrants from Indian, Pakistan, Nepal, Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and many African countries
200,793 steps taken over 14 days spent in Qatar
68,463 – Most attended game I saw: England vs UK at Al Bayt Stadium
14,343 steps per day on average
40+ photos requested (and taken) with Iranian fans before the USA-Iran match. This may have been my favorite part of the trip. So much positivity and joy!
35 goals witnessed – actually 33, as I missed Alphonso Davies’ 2nd minute goal vs Croatia, because security made me take my bag to the restricted items tent, and Vincent Aboubakar’s 90+ minute goal because I was stupidly checking my phone for directions back to the hotel after the game – smh)
32 nations represented in the tournament
20 total days of the trip – 3 days traveling, 3 days in Manila, 14 days in Doha
14 matches attended
8 stadiums – attended at least one match in each stadium
7 Most goals scored by a team (Spain 7 Costa Rica 0)
6 total flights – PDX -> SFO -> Seoul -> Manila -> Doha -> SFO -> PDX
4 scarves collected
3.6 Conversion rate from Qatari Rial to American Dollars
3 minutes during which Spain and Germany were out, and Costa Rica and Japan were in. In the exciting day 3 of group play, this group was one of the wilder ones. Costa Rica took a 2-1 lead over Germany, when I grabbed this screenshot. Germany scored 3 minutes later to knock Costa Rica off, but were eliminated anyway. Japan beat Spain to win the group.
2 people told me I look like Thomas Tuchel – click the link for photos – are the right?
1 Camel ridden
0 Regrets
Thanks for following my journey. I’ll probably write a few more posts as the tournament goes on! – Brian
