Santhosh Chandran
Doha
Face painting kiosks in stadium premises are expected to see bigger crowds in the last two days of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Face painting is one of the preferred ways for football fans to show support for their teams because the visual impact created by face painting on millions of people watching the matches on television is known to all.
A football lover and fan of Argentinian team said, "I am very passionate about getting my face painted. Simply yet very strongly, it reveals my passion for football and declares straight away which side I support. It makes me feel proud and helps create the right spirit in the stadium.”
As part of the various arrangements to keep fans entertained, the authorities and fan clubs in Qatar have set up separate painting kiosks for the competing sides at the stadium. The kiosks will open three hours prior to the match and each one will be able to handle nearly 300 people in those three hours.
A large proportion of fans supporting Argentina and France are excited about getting their faces painted.Morocco and Croatia also have a considerable number of fans who would like to paint their faces. "So, we are expecting more people at kiosks on the final days”, a FIFA volunteer said.
Fans of Argentina, Morocco, France, Portugal and Brazil have so far formed a majority of the supporters arriving at kiosks for face painting.
While the fans are excited about face painting, the artists who do the job for them are also looking forward to those three hours. "It is very interesting to talk to fans and listen to their experiences and share with them the excitement and spirit of football,” a face painter said.
Asked about their preferences during face painting, another face painter said: "While a few people want everything perfect, a majority are happy with the simple strokes of the specified colours applied on their face as a marker to show the team they support.”
Besides the getting it done at one of the face painting kiosks, fans have the option to use the ‘Fan Box’ contents for painting their faces. Apart from face paint, fan boxes also have articles like flag, cap and scarf.
These boxes are available in local markets in different price ranges depending on their content.