Lebanon: how football fans manage to follow the World Cup in Qatar

Audio 01:11

Some Lebanese go to cafes to follow the broadcast of football World Cup matches that are not broadcast on public television.

AFP - JOSEPH EID

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

In a Lebanon in crisis, the bankrupt state has not obtained the rights to broadcast the 2022 World Cup. As a result, no match is visible on public television, Télé Liban.

No question of depriving oneself of football, in a country where the victories of the favorite teams are celebrated.

Those who can afford it subscribe to cable and the others make do, between evenings at the café, internet channels and small schemes.

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With our correspondent in Beirut

,

Laure Stephan

In a working-class neighborhood in the southern suburbs of

Beirut

, generators hum, space has been made inside a store.

Young people bring plastic chairs to follow the match between Portugal and South Korea on a television screen.

"

This year, I'm watching the World Cup outside the house,

" says Moustapha, a 19-year-old student

.

First, because I grew up;

and then, my family can't afford cable, it's way too expensive!

Here it's free.

So, we come, and we watch with friends, all together.

I follow all the matches, it's a World Cup, you have to be aware of everything.

»

Follow the matches in streaming in cafes or from your smartphone

If it's "free", it's because the cable is pirated.

For Abbas, who likes to play football, there is no question of missing a match: “

I can follow the World Cup in a café, or with friends of friends.

But to enter a café that transmits the matches, you have to pay 5 dollars, without consumption.

I don't want to work all day for this.

So, I come to this store with my friends.

The other way to follow the matches is on your phone.

»

On his phone, Abbas points to the scooter procession he took part in to celebrate Brazil's victory in a game a few days ago.

This is the team he hopes to see triumph.

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  • Lebanon

  • Soccer

  • World Cup 2022