Watch: In a first, Friday prayers held during FIFA World Cup in Qatar

Doha: For the first of its kind in history, hundreds of fans, players, and officials at the World Cup 2022 in Qatar performed Friday prayers in the vicinity of Ahmed bin Ali Stadium and Al-Thamma Stadium.

The photos and videos shared widely by social media users garnered a lot of interaction, in a scene that many found ‘historically dazzling’.

In a video, worshipers can be seen gathered in a prayer square at the time of the call to prayer, where they listened to the sermon in Arabic before performing the prayer in front of the World Cup stadium.

On the other hand, the organizers were keen to deliver a Friday sermon in English in front of Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, which witnessed the Iran-Wales match.

The semon dealt with the issue of honouring parents, benevolence to women and preserving the rights of workers.

“I came to an Islamic country to attend Friday prayer… This is what makes me happy in this competition,” Yousef al-Idbari, a visiting fan from Morocco, told Reuters.

First World Cup of its kind

The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar will continue until December 18.

Thus, this year’s edition will be the first tournament to be hosted in the Middle East, the first in a Muslim-majority country, and the first to be held at the end of the year, in order to suit the temperatures in the Gulf country with the reception of the masses.