AlKass Digital
Doha, Qatar - The Paris Saint-Germain delegation headed back to the French capital yesterday with a heavy baggage of great memories after some incredible moments shared with their fans on the Qatar Tour 2019.
It started with their arrival in Doha on Sunday with fans waiting for them to get off the plane and to reach their hotel. After signing autographs and posing for pictures, the Rouge-et-Bleu were already well warmed up for the four days ahead of them.
On Monday, the Parisians were all over Doha with photo and film sessions, as well as meeting fans as part of sponsor activation. It was a chance to capture some magical moments both in the desert and by the sea with the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Neymar Jr, Angel Di Maria and Thiago Silva.
Presnel Kimpembe, Thilo Kehrer, Christopher Nkunku, Alphonse Aréola and Thomas Meunier checked out the Al Wakrah Stadium, one of the future 2022 FIFA World Cup venues that is still under construction. To get there, they took the brand-new Underground line built specially for the event, while Edinson Cavani, Marco Verratti, Kylian Mbappé, Marquinhos and Dani Alves headed to the Kempinski Hotel as part of a shoot for an ad for the Qatari bank QNB.
As if that wasn’t enough to cram into one Monday, more than 300 children took part in the opening of the Paris Saint-Germain Academy in Doha on the site of the Qatar Foundation.
Along with Presnel Kimpembe, Layvin Kurzawa, Moussa Diaby, Stanley Nsoki and Colin Dagba, the children got a chance to talk to the players and get those all-important autographs and selfies. On Katara beach in north Doha, Christopher Nkunku, Alphonse Areola and Sébastien Cibois were among the players who took on Paris Saint-Germain’s eSports team: the Qatari Ahmed Al-Meghessib and Rafael Fortes from Brazil.
Tuesday saw more than 15,000 fans pack into the Khalifa Stadium to see the squad training, another sign of the club’s growing popularity in the region. The players brandishing a banner thanking the supporters was one of the day’s highlights.
Finally, on Wednesday, all the Paris Saint-Germain players went up against each other in camel races at the Al Shayaniya racecourse near Doha. Winners of the first two races, Neymar Jr and Coach Tuchel donated their winnings - two cheques of 25,000 euros supplied by telephone operator and club sponsor Ooredoo - to the club’s charity work.
The squad also took part in a number of training sessions at Aspire as they prepare for what they hope will be a memorable second half to the season.