staddoha.com
Ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022, FM 107 Urdu Radio will broadcast Let’s Go Qatar programme that will highlight Qatari football through a series of interviews with some of the Qatari football legends.
The 30-episode programme will be broadcasted through FM 107 and on its social media channels from the inaugural day of 2022 FIFA World Cup on 20 November.
The interviews will feature legends like Khaled Salman, Badr Bilal, Adel Mallalah, Ibrahim Khalfan, Mubarak Mustafa among others.
The generation of footballers from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s shared their experiences and touches on the Qatar football’s milestones.
The Qatar Football Association was formed in 1960 and three years later, Qatar became an official FIFA member while the Annabis played their first official match against Bahrain in the biennial Gulf Cup in 1970.
But Qatar’s exploits at the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship, in Australia, where the Annabis finished second behind West Germany, are etched in the memories of every football lover.
The performance of the Qatari team in a FIFA-event is widely discussed even today, with the likes of Badar Bilal and Khaled Salman attaining super star status.
The duo scored three goals each in the tournament, with Salman’s hat-trick against Brazil in the quarterfinals is being analysed almost in every discussion on Qatari football.
The former footballers share their experiences in the programme and touches on Qatar football’s culture.
“As we approach the FIFA World Cup, Let’s Go Qatar will focus on Qatar football history,” said FM 107 station director Ms Kholoud Al Hemaidi.
“FM 107 targets the Asian communities, who mostly speak in Urdu and Hindi. We want them to listen to Qatar football’s amazing history,” she added.
Mubarak and goalkeeper Ahmed Khalil, who played at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, are the other big names who feature on the programme. Mubarak scored in Qatar’s 1-0 win against Egypt at the Games while Khalil was the star of Qatar’s maiden Arab Gulf Cup at home in the same year.
Station’s program supervisor Intisar Adam, who conceptualised Let’s Go Qatar, felt the stories of Qatari footballers was long due on radio.
“Asian communities are huge in number in the country. We want them (Asian communities) to understand the rich tradition of Qatari football. That’s how Let’s Go Qatar idea cropped up,” said Intisar Adam.
Qatar open their campaign against Ecuador in the tournament-opener at the gigantic Al Bayt Stadium on 20 November.