For those in town on the 19th, we rented a bar from 7p to 2am. Tix required since we prepaid to block the place: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/us-sup...ickets-required-nov-19th-tickets-443807398877
What are everyone's plans for pre-match f&b? For Eng+Irn games we are shuttling in from Dubai with a few hours buffer before making way to the stadiums, so I contacted a few places - some have minimum #, others minimum spend. Just have a feeling it'll take a bit of luck for a good meal and catching the early games without booking in advance. Also haven't heard anything from AO or USSF.
AO has been oddly quiet thus far. To answer your question, I was going to pregame at the hotel bar and then the stadium
i am shuttling in from Dubai for the Wales and Iran games, i have no plan other than to find something to eat, maybe stare in wonder at all the tall buildings and head to stadium.. Wales game the stadium is FAR out, but the the mall, so probably will hang at the mall... Iran game the stadium is close to airport, and depending on the results at that point the mood among fans might be a party or a funeral...
I made a reservation at SHOTS Sports Bar Doha in West Bay for 4pm on the 25th. They said no minimum spend and I was able to book over Whatsapp. This appealed to me for a variety beer of beer reasons beer including the proximity to the DECC red line stop and presumably where the Stadium Express Bus will depart from West Bay. Would welcome anybody that wants to make reservations and turn this into a solid pre-pre-match before hitting the Al Bayt fan fest.
I would be shocked if USSF is doing anything day of games. They are doing their night before parties and would be surprised if anything formal day of. I think I heard (no confirmation of this) that AO isn't doing anything formal either. Wouldn't be surprised if they just had something for their travel package folks. Sammers are in same boat. Having some causal reservations for members before each of the group stage games but these are just open to members and friends. Note if you are a Sammers member and don't know about these, please direct message as we also have a whatsapp group to organize things as much as possible.
Pregame... AO will not be organizing any pregame activities. A shame really, but to be fair the options aren't good. For, let's say 5,000? people, there's no where to host it. There really isn't. To rent a bar is putting up hundreds of thousands $$ and then charging tix and having bouncers and ticket takers, and there's no facility big enough to host. Any large park area would be cool but there's no beer sales. USSF probably won't do anything for gameday either. Sammers dont have anything organized on a broad scale either. I would like to see AO more proactive in support/resource, but mostly for optics and guidance. There isn't a central square with bars and liquor stores that thousands can migrate to and party, it just doesn't exist.
I guess this will not be a popular take -- but it is sad commentary that our organized supporters groups can organize nothing unless alcohol is involved.
I will say on the Sammers side, yes we are planning pregame meetups at bars/restaurants and yes, people will be drinking, but the whole idea behind Sammers is that we don’t want people who are throwing down drinks, we want people who are bringing it inside the stadium for the 90. Sure it’s an ethos and not truly enforceable but the reason we aren’t opening events to the general public is because we want to control where we are going. Now this is not meant as negative against US Soccer events or AO at all, but this is how we try to control it better. Personally, I like to have a beer or two before the game but that’s about it. To me, I just want to be able to enjoy the matches. Sorry for the long long winded post
It's hard to formally plan something inside the stadium grounds as you cannot reserve some area just for you. That said, the FB group (US fans traveling to Qatar) is trying to organize a spot to get together when going to games (US and non US).
Just to give one example of how hard it is to figure things out, our group had four tables (four separate reservations) at a place for pre-England game and all got cancelled today by the restaurant/bar.
I think this will be the extend of the pre-match festivities. I plan to get to the stadiums super early on USA match days. If it turns out the pre-match in the stadiums are lame (e.g., if they have 1 person selling beer for the whole stadium), then I'll have to come up with a Plan B.
For those in Qatar, curious to know what you're doing between match days for the United States if you're not attending other matches? Interested in how the fan experience has been so far!
Hi Everyone - Would really like some help and feedback here. I am planning to fly to Qatar for the quarterfinals if the US makes it. I am unsure the process of doing everything. Looks like there's flights and hotels available which is great. But i have more doubt on getting tickets and getting a Hayya card. What's the best way of getting tickets? Is it through the FIFA site or can i do it on stubhub. When i go to the site to apply for Hayya card, i believe it ask me for my ticket. Is this something i can do once in Qatar? Any guidance would be very helpful. Thank you and GO USA!