Sneaking out of lockdown, paying small fortunes, and contracting Covid: the travails of Chinese soccer fans at the FIFA World Cup
Qatar’s Lusail Stadium was full of fans sporting the blue and white colors of Argentina, and the red, white, and green of Mexico, as the two nations battled it out on the pitch during their FIFA World Cup group match on November 26. But among the sea of South and Central Americans, one small corner of the crowd was decked all in red and brandishing five-star red flags.
Despite their national team’s failure to qualify for the tournament, strict Covid-19 travel restrictions in China when the tournament began, and the continuing prospect of lengthy quarantine upon reentry into the PRC, a hardy band of Chinese fans have managed to join the crowds of soccer fans in Qatar. Many have come at great personal expense, all to catch a glimpse of the world’s best players—and to travel abroad for the first time in a long time, likely years.
Yang Hao, a 36-year-old soccer fan from the southwestern city of Chongqing, had to escape tightening pandemic restrictions to get to Doha. With his apartment complex officially locked down, and no one allowed in or out, he snuck out through the unattended underground parking lot at midnight on November 27 to make his flight.
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