By Rita Enemuru, Reporting
AS a spectator who wants to enjoy the 2022 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) competition to the fullest, there are eight things you must avoid throughout your stay in Qatar.
In what will be the first winter edition in the history of the competition, the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup is set to commence on November 20, 2022.
Highlights
The most renowned and best players in the world will take the center stage in Qatar as the action runs through the final on December 18, 2022.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will kick off with the host nation’s match against Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. Below are some of the things you must avoid.
Drinking Alcohol
No doubt there will be moment where it would look like your best team is winning and you want to celebrate the moment in public with a little gulp of alcohol.
Don’t. No matter how excited you are or how sad you are because your team is losing, do not be tempted to gulp down a can of beer.
Though alcohol is not illegal in the country, there’s zero tolerance for drinking and getting drunk in public.
So resist the urge, I really wouldn’t want to write about you being in jail in a foreign land.
Homosexuality
I know you have been accepted for your sexuality in your country but please don’t hit on your same gender in Qatar.
According to research, same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Penal Code 2004, which criminalises acts of ‘sodomy’ and ‘sexual intercourse’ between people of the same sex in the State of Qatar.
Immodesty
You have chains of companies in different countries in the world and you are in the habit of telling it to who cares to listen, don’t do that in Qatar. Any form of boasting and bragging about one’s achievement is repulsive to Qatari Citizens.
Profanity
Take your time to research about the things the citizens of Qatar termed sacred and accord the same respect.
You must avoid Treating treating sacred things with contempt, disrespect, irreverence, or scorn; do not be blasphemous. avoid being irreverent in language; desist from use of vulgar words.
Respect for places of worship
Do not show any sign of disrespect for places of worship in Qatar. The country is majorly an Islamic country; so as a visitor, you must respect the Islamic faith of the country and its people.
Loud music and sounds
If you’re accustomed to loud music and sounds and you love displaying your love for loud music, you must endeavour to hide you affection for it. Each country has its own rules and laws that as a foreigner you must abide with. You must not turn on the volume of your speakers to the loudest to show that you are celebrating; avoid that.
Dating
Research reveals that there are laws that criminalize unmarried sex in Qatar. The laws are based on Islamic legal tradition that classifies sex outside marriage and pregnancy outside wedlock unlawful punishable by one year imprisonment.
So no, don’t think of going to Qatar to ‘catch cruise’ with the opposite sex. If you come across someone you like, go through the right channels and get married.
Taking people’s pictures without their permission
Taking pictures of people without their permission is not allowed in Qatar. Taking photographs or clips in a public place with the intention of offending or defaming is punishable by two years’ imprisonment. So don’t take pictures of people without their permission.
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