A group of Japanese fans stood out in the crowd at the first match of the 2022 Soccer World Championship. On November 22, the opening match between Qatar, the hosting country, and Ecuador, was disputed at the Al-Bayt Stadium of Doha. After the match, a group of Japanese spectators, armed with smiles, trash bags, and politeness, got filmed while cleaning the stands of the sector they had occupied.
The unexpected gesture has been recorded and the video has been posted by Omar Farooq, an Arab content creator. When Farooq asked the fans why they were cleaning their sector after the game they replied that “the Japanese never leave trash around, since [we] respect the place we are in.” This group of fans was also seen carefully realigning the Qatari flags and this has been widely appreciated by the public. The video quickly went viral and these Japanese supporters have been praised as an example of sportsmanship and hospitality.
This is not the first time that Japanese fans have distinguished themselves for their respect and manners during sports events. A similar episode occurred during the World Cup in Russia, in 2018.
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