Al-Maqtari asked this question in 4 languages: Arabic, English, French, and Italian, and gave gifts to everyone who answered correctly.
Yemeni businessman Hamed Al-Maqtari took the initiative to promote the FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar by visiting 78 cities in 52 countries, asking people he met about the name of the host country of the World Cup.
This self-initiative lasted for 3 years until 2022, during which Al-Maqtari asked this question in 4 languages: Arabic, English, French, and Italian, and gave gifts to everyone who answered correctly.
Between November 20 and December 18, Qatar will host the World Cup finals with the participation of 32 teams. It is the biggest and most prominent tournament in the world of football at the national level, and it is being held for the first time in the Middle East and the Arab region.
Starting from Gulf Cup 20
Speaking about his idea to promote the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Al-Maqtari said that it began during the Gulf Cup in Yemen in 2010 (Gulf 20), when Qatar was bidding to host the 2022 World Cup: “I wrote on the shirt of the child I was coaching in football ‘Support Qatar’s bid’, during the Qatar-Yemen match.”
He added that after the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he thought of visiting more than 50 countries: “When I saw things going well, I ended up visiting 78 cities in 52 countries.”
Al-Maqtari pointed out that the Qataris have left their mark everywhere through sports, noting that through his initiative he noticed that “Qatar is respected and appreciated all over the world.”
He explained, “In France and many other countries there is a Qatari presence, in addition to charitable work in Africa. Qatar has become impressively well-known. Even Yemen (which has been at war since 2014) prefers to play in Qatar.”
One Question
Regarding the content of the initiative, Al-Maqtari said: “The idea was to ask one question: Which country is hosting the World Cup? And the answer is Qatar. A gift is given to anyone who answers. The questions were in 4 languages: Arabic, English, French, and Italian. I traveled to Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Norway, and many other countries (..). We hope this is a simple gift to our brothers in Qatar and the Arab world.”
He added, “The visits lasted 3 years. Whenever I filmed something, I kept it. There were some difficulties in some European countries, but I turned it into a smile.”
He clarified: “I did not expect everyone to know Qatar like this in their answers, given the differences in languages, customs, and traditions. But with the social media revolution, everything became easier. Everyone was saying Qatar, and I had various gifts, including clothes, perfumes, and material gifts.”
It is worth mentioning that Hamed Al-Maqtari is not only a prominent businessman but also a public figure with many connections with leading personalities in various fields: political, social, economic, artistic, and sports.
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