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Bola.com, Jakarta – A Saudi citizen Abdullah Alsulmi did a unique thing before World Cup 2022. He did so after seeing a TV show in which a senior Qatari official promised an “incredible” experience.

The 33-year-old believes he will come to neighboring Saudi Arabia to support his home team World Cup 2022. “I will go to Doha no matter what, even if I have to walk!” he said.

Although Saudi Arabia and Qatar are close neighboring countries to each other, the distance Alsulmi has to walk is quite long. He had to walk 1,600 kilometers from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Doha, Qatar.

This distance is more than double the distance from Jakarta to Surabaya, which is around 700 kilometers. So Alsulmi is like coming and going from Jakarta to Surabaya.

So what was the objective, the difficulty and how long did it take for Alsulmi to walk to Doha for the pleasure of world Cup 2022? Let’s see the story.

Documented

It is estimated that Alsulmi takes two months to walk from Jeddah to Doha. During his travels, he documents every activity on his Snapchat account with thousands of followers.

Even though Saudi Arabia is not the host world Cup, Alsulmi said he was very excited to host the football tournament which was held for the first time in the Middle East. According to him, the 2022 World Cup is a milestone for all Arabs.

“We want to support the World Cup,” Alsulmi said last week upon arriving in the city of Al-Khasrah, 340 kilometers southwest of Riyadh. “I consider myself a Qatari who is very interested in this World Cup and its success,” continued the man wearing a large hat and carrying a backpack with Saudi and Qatari flags.

Sun

Previously, Alsulmi had experience of covering long distances on foot. He did this in Canada as well as in Australia, where he lived.

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However, he said that the journey across the Arabian Peninsula, the terrain is more difficult. This is because he has to walk early until 10:30 a.m. to rest from the hot sun and continue his afternoon journey until sunset.

Sometimes he walks at night to maintain his goal of around 35 kilometers a day. To ease his burden, Alsulmi lives off the food he buys on the street while bathing and washing his clothes at the mosque.

Scorpio

His social media posts capture the details of life on the road, from the mundane to the menacing. As he was about to go to sleep in the tent, Alsulmi saw a scorpion around his tent.

He also recorded conversations with Saudis he met along the way. Many of them offer snacks and juices to keep them alive.

“There have been ups and downs, but when I meet people and hear those sweet words ‘we’re going to follow you on your account and support you’ it pushes me to do it,” he said. said.

Overtaking in various terrains

Alsulmi also sometimes tries to find the closest route. The trick is to cut yourself off from the main route as often as possible and find alternate routes on some of its routes.

While taking the alternative route, he encountered varied landscapes. “Walking from Jeddah to Doha, every 100 kilometers when you have a different view,” he said.

“I mean, the first 100 kilometers there are dunes, then mountains, then comes deserts, then agriculture,” he said. “I’m going to cross the whole terrain of a country in two months. It’s a beautiful thing,” he added.

simple sports

Alsulmi hopes that by publishing his experience, he can inspire other Saudi citizens. He wants to campaign for the sport of walking or trekking to be popular in Saudi Arabia.

“When I do this, I want to tell people that hiking and walking are beautiful sports. Even if the weather is difficult here in Saudi Arabia, even if the terrain is difficult. We can do it,” he said. he declares.

“It’s a sport for simple people. You just need a bag and a few simple things, a tent and nature,” he explained. If all goes as planned, Alsulmi will arrive in Doha in time for Saudi Arabia’s opener against Argentina on November 22.

Waiting for Saudi Arabia national team

Alsulmi hopes he can soon arrive on time and see the Saudi national team face Argentina in person. It will be a moment of shared loyalty, as Argentina are his favourites.

Four days later he had tickets for the Green Falcons game against Poland. Expectations are high for Saudi Arabia to repeat their 1994 World Cup debut by advancing to the Round of 16.

“This year we have good players. The coach is great French coach Hervé Renard,” he said. “We hope and hope that this year the team will put in a great performance.”