Saudi football fan treks across desert to reach World Cup in Qatar
The idea hit Abdullah Alsulmi earlier this year, while he was watching a television show in which a senior Qatari official promised an “exceptional” experience at the upcoming World Cup.
His excitement building, the 33-year-old Saudi recalls thinking: “I will go to Doha no matter what, even if have to walk!”
It was an unlikely beginning to what has become an audacious adventure dismissed by some of Alsulmi’s own relatives as “crazy”: a two-month, 1,600-kilometre (1,000-mile) solo trek from his native Jeddah to the Qatari capital.
Alsulmi says the journey, faithfully documented for his thousands of Snapchat followers, is meant to highlight regional enthusiasm for the first World Cup in the Middle East – which Saudi officials have pitched as a milestone “for all Arabs”.
Wearing a wide-brim hat and a backpack to which he’d affixed Saudi and Qatari flags, he said: “I consider myself like a Qatari who is very interested in this World Cup and its success.”
His social media posts capture details of life on the trail, from the mundane to the menacing: his nightly search for a spot to sleep, and the time he eyed a scorpion dozing dangerously close to his tent.
“There are moments of ups and downs, but when meet people and hear these sweet words – “We will follow you on your account and support you’ – this encourages me to finish,” he said.
Straying from the main roads as often as he can, he says he has been rewarded with a taste of the varied scenery on offer in the kingdom – something he didn’t fully appreciate before. “Walking from Jeddah to Doha, every 100 kilometres is different. I mean, the first 100 kilometres there are sand dunes, then mountains, and then comes empty land, then farms,” he said.
Alsulmi hopes that by posting about his experience, he can inspire other Saudis to consider trekking through their homeland.
If all goes according to plan, Alsulmi will arrive in Doha in time for Saudi Arabia’s opening showdown against Argentina on November 22
