To follow the 2022 World Cup.. This is the only solution for the Lebanese

The Lebanese are preparing to watch the 2022 World Cup matches, as the atmosphere of the World Cup and the competition between the fans of the national teams began to pervade the streets a few days ago.

Until now, negotiations are still underway between the Minister of Information in the caretaker government, Engineer Ziad Al-Makari, and the authorities in charge of securing the broadcast of the matches via the official Lebanon TV screen in the country, without reaching a tangible result.

On Thursday evening, the media office of the Minister of Information issued a statement explaining that “negotiations with the Qatari side to secure the broadcast of the 2022 World Cup matches on Lebanon TV are still ongoing, and the issue has not yet been resolved.”

Sources told TnT Universal Tv that “there are many complications and difficulties in the negotiations, and the limited time is an unhelpful factor.”

Until now, waiting is still the master of the situation, as the ability to follow the World Cup leads to incurring an amount of money that many Lebanese cannot afford even during the previous World Cup matches, that is, 4 years ago, so how now in light of the economic crisis and the high poverty rate?

The coffee shops are ready

The head of the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafés and Patisseries in Lebanon, Tony Al-Rami, told “TnT Universal Tv” that “the cost of subscriptions to transfer matches in cafes ranges from 3 thousand to 15 thousand US dollars, depending on the capacity of the cafe, and that the cafe that can accommodate 50 seats, for example, will be paid.” Instead of allowing direct transfer, an amount starting from at least $3,000.

Al-Rami expected that “cafes would be crowded with visitors, especially after the difficulty of securing broadcasting of matches via official television for free, announcing that the atmosphere would be secured at appropriate and considered prices, taking into account the economic situation of the citizen.”

The absence of electricity

A cafe owner in the Hamra district of the capital, Beirut, said, “Most football fans will go to cafes to watch the matches because watching at home costs more, and there is also a problem of lack of electricity.”

He added, “In the cafes, the atmosphere is different. The decorations and flags of the participating teams have been prepared, and most of the cafes have turned into spacious halls so that the fans feel that they are on a runway. There are loudspeakers, horns (air blowing sounds) and people who will paint slogans on the faces. The atmosphere is more enthusiastic.”

And the owner of a cafe and restaurant in Ashrafieh, east of Beirut, indicates that “despite all the bad conditions that the Lebanese are going through, they are waiting for this occasion… and after they were about 85 percent of the restaurant goers previously, only after the October 17 revolution and the explosion of the port and the outbreak of an epidemic Corona and the social, financial and health collapses have changed the situation, and most of those who go to restaurants are now those who receive their salaries in dollars.

And in the vicinity of the Beirut Arab University, west of the capital, the owner of a cafe highlighted that “the atmosphere is different this year and that crowding is expected more than before due to the absence of electricity on the one hand, and because of the inability to secure transportation in homes on the other hand.”

He added, “The atmosphere will be enthusiastic, and we will take into account the difficult economic conditions, and we will set a symbolic amount for entry that does not exceed 60,000 Lebanese pounds for each person per match (one and a half dollars), but of course this has nothing to do with requests, food and refreshments.”

He continued, “We may cancel the entry fee for some matches and keep it for those that attract a large audience.”

Slim subscriptions

“Until now, there is still very little demand from the Lebanese to subscribe to watch the matches through the authorized agents of the transport companies, especially in Beirut,” says Jad, one of the employees of an authorized agent company for the transfer of the World Cup.

He points out that “the situation is not better outside the capital,” stressing that “the percentage of subscribers in Beirut does not exceed 30 percent, at a time when it reached 90 percent four years ago.”

He explains that “the allowance resulting from the subscription is about 90 dollars, while it was equivalent to 135,000 pounds before the crisis that Lebanon is going through, and the price of the allowance increases whenever the quality of the selected packages increases, and it may reach 200 dollars per month.”

For his part, Tony (a mechanical engineer) says: “Perhaps the banks’ seizure of our money prevented us from participating in the match transfer packages.”

He adds, “In light of the economic collapse, the bulk of the Lebanese people will not be able to participate… From here, they will have no choice but to go to cafes and pay their bills there.”