Qatar has done everything to make the World Cup eventful for everyone. This includes portraying Arab cultures to the world. Furthermore, the World Cup would not happen without the official mascot for this year’s tournament. Introducing to you, La’eeb, which means ‘super-skilled player’ in Arabic.
La’eeb is a mascot that portrays the traditional attire of the Arab men — kaffiyeh. Everyone was excited seeing the mascot during the opening ceremony. Some people think that La’eeb is cute, and looks like Casper! It sure does. You can interpret the mascot however you like because the official website of FIFA mentions that the mascot is ‘indescribable.’
During the first game between Qatar and Ecuador, attention was brought to a young Qatari. The teenager who was seen wearing a kaffiyeh grabbed the attention of football enthusiasts, especially fans from China.
He was making facial expressions portraying that he was shocked and disappointed in his country during the game.
People thought his expressions were funny, so they began to make him a meme. They compared him to the official mascot of the tournament, La’eeb. Interestingly, they look similar!
Who is the Qatari teenager?
His name is Abdulrahman Fahad al-Thani. He is 16 years old and could be a member of the Qatari royal family.
Upon his expressions that have been viral, especially in China, he thanked them for their positive support. Fans are calling him the ‘Wonton Wrapper Prince’ as he looks like the mascot. The people in China describe the mascot as ‘Wonton Wrapper’ as it looks like a dumpling.
Abdulrahman said, “Hello, this is my message for all of my Chinese fans. “I’m here to say thank you for all of your beautiful comments and all of your beautiful videos. I’ve seen all of them. Thank you so much, and you’re more than welcome to come to Qatar. You can experience and watch this amazing event – the World Cup. Thank you.”
Many Chinese commented that he was welcome to visit China as well. Moreover, his response was one of the most discussed topics on Chinese social media recently.
Check out this meme of him:
Sources: Straits Times Asia, FIFA, @fifaworldcup__2022 (TikTok)