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Exclusive: ‘Cheerleaders’ hired to clap during FIFA Cup

Fans cheer during a training session for the Qatar National Team at the Jassim bin Hamad stadium in Doha. (AFP File)
  • Young Arab boys and girls from countries such as Lebanon are being flown to Qatar and paid $800 to cheer during the upcoming World Cup, TRENDS Investigation reveals
  • Whoever had a valid passport and got three doses of Covid-19 vaccination jumped on the ‘clapping’ bandwagon, one of the clappers flying to Qatar tells TRENDS

Beirut, LEBANON — While the NFL in the U.S. pays its cheerleaders US$150 per game on average, Qatar’s Aspire Academy is flying in young Arab boys and girls from countries such as Lebanon and paying them $800 to cheer during the upcoming World Cup, according to an offer letter seen by TRENDS.

The TRENDS Investigation team learned that some young people in Lebanon were approached and recruited by Qatar’s leading sports academy to clap and cheer for football teams playing during the FIFA Cup 2022.

Informed sources told TRENDS that young Lebanese heard from their friends working in Qatar that there is an opportunity to attend the 2022 World Cup and earn some quick money. As Lebanon continues to be in a deep economic crisis, the youth have been desperate to earn a living. The Aspire Academy’s offer to supposedly clap and cheer at the world-class event couldn’t have come at a better time.

Whoever had a valid passport and got three doses of Covid-19 vaccination jumped on the ‘clapping’ bandwagon. One of the youngsters who received the offer spoke to TRENDS on the condition of anonymity saying that he and his friends are super-excited to enjoy games at the World Cup.

One cannot ask for more; Qatar Airways flights from Beirut to Doha and return are paid by the organizers, accommodation is paid, food and local transportation are taken care of and on top of this we’d get paid $800 – is this heaven or what, quipped a source who is looking forward to this trip with a bated breath.

With low wages and a 15 percent unemployment rate in Lebanon, the trip to Qatar is an amazing paid vacation for the young Lebanese. TRENDS Investigation team secured copies of Invitation Letters and group tickets booked on Qatar Airways with flights departing on October 16, 2022, and returning on December 1, 2022.

One of the ‘cheerleaders’ preparing for the Qatar visit said that his group is expected to arrive in Doha as early as October 16 and will undergo a training program for clapping and cheering football teams. His assumption is that the group will be trained in how and when to clap or cheer the team or what slogans to raise.

One of the ‘cheerleaders’ preparing for the Qatar visit said that his group is expected to arrive in Doha as early as October 16 and will undergo a training program for clapping and cheering football teams. His assumption is that the group will be trained in how and when to clap or cheer the team or what slogans to raise.

Copy of the flight tickets seen by TRENDS indicates that the ‘cheerleaders’ will return in the first week of December, and the sources said it is likely that the ‘cheerleaders’ will only attend games played by Qatar.

Football fans say it would be a miracle if Qatar’s team reach a Round of 16, hence the hired cheerleaders would stay until the group games and then return to their respective countries during the first week of December. The quarterfinals will be played from December 9, 2022, onwards and the final game is slated for Sunday, December 18, 2022.

Recently, the CEO of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Nasser Al Khater said that revenues of the World Cup are expected to reach US$17 billion, which included US$9 billion in profits. Per Qatari local news media, 2.7 million tickets were sold until the end of last week (October 2, 2022), with games kicking off on November 20.

If the projected profits by the chief executive are any indication then investing in a few hundred ‘cheerleaders’ is worth the time and effort to enhance the overall mood in the stadium.

TRENDS reached out to the Aspire Academy in Qatar to better understand the reasoning behind hiring paid cheerleaders from crisis-hit Arab countries. The response was awaited until the writing/publishing of this story.

(Wadad Mogharbel along with TRENDS team members contributed to the story.)