SINGAPORE, Nov 20 — Aruvin Gobi Nathan set off for Doha, Qatar yesterday morning for a two-week trip that he had spent a year-and-a-half planning.
The 35-year-old banking compliance manager will be attending four World Cup group stage games at four different stadiums from November 21 to November 30.
One of these games involves a Portugal team featuring a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, for whom the 2022 World Cup is set to be his last.
“It would be great to catch Cristiano Ronaldo score live before he retires,” said Nathan, who is forking out about S$10,000 (RM33,092) for the entire two-week trip.
He will be watching the matches with his friend from Qatar, who is providing accommodation throughout Nathan’s stay.
Another football fan headed to Qatar for the World Cup is Rob Van Alphen, 36, who plans to catch the South Korea-Ghana match on November 28.
“I’m definitely excited... it will be very nice to be in the stadium. I think the vibes are going to be amazing,” he said.
For football fans in Singapore who will be catching the action on screen, they, too, cannot wait for the action to begin.
While some Singaporeans have expressed annoyance at the price of this year’s World Cup subscription package, others reckon that for the number of matches they get access to, the price is “reasonable”.
Said 55-year-old contractor and long-time football fanatic Max Lee: “If you go watch a movie, it costs between S$10 and S$13, maybe you could watch nine movies. Whereas for S$98, I get to watch 60 over matches. It’s entertainment for me as well, so I think it’s okay.”
For some, this World Cup is significant as it could be the swansong for some of the game’s greatest players.
“It’s obviously a big spectacle. It’s something different from the usual club football that you’re used to year in, year out,” said 32-year-old Laveen Prakasan.
“I want to see my favourite team (the Netherlands) play, and I’m also looking forward to seeing what the last major international tournament for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is potentially.”
It was a sentiment echoed by 18-year-old Ngee Ann Polytechnic student Hayley Sharvani, who said: “This is a way to remember the legacy of players like Messi, Ronaldo, (Edinson) Cavani and Luka Modric.”
Some Singaporeans are using the occasion to get together with friends and family.
Karthik Mohan, 32, has been planning to coordinate watch parties with his uncles.
“We went to get the (match schedule) and we were just sort of figuring out the matches where we could have watch parties. So for the weekdays, probably the 6pm and 9pm games, and maybe the 12pm game, and then on the weekends we’re looking at the 3am games as well.”
Another local fan, 56-year-old project engineer Peter Low, also has watch party plans.
“If it’s a weekend game, maybe I’ll meet up with some friends at McDonald’s,” he said. — TODAY