Japan won’t begin its quest at the 2022 FIFA World Cup until Wednesday, but Qatar supporters are already in the spotlight for all good reasons.
Japanese fans attending the opening match of the World Cup featuring Qatar and Ecuador went viral after collecting garbage bags at Arbeit Stadium on Sunday.
Omar Farouk, an influencer from Bahrain with millions of YouTube subscribers, in an instagram post.
“We are Japanese. We don’t leave trash behind and we respect this place,” one fan told Farouk.
The video has garnered over 750,000 likes since it was posted on Sunday.
People respond with ‘Wow’ and ‘Respect’ when this video gets likes in the comments.
“They should give them free tickets,” said another commenter, translated from Arabic.
“I wish everyone could learn from Japan,” added another.
Japanese supporters, like the team itself, have a similar history of respectful behavior.
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, they lost 2–1 to Ivory Coast in the opening match of the competition after fans cleaned the stadium. Fans were also cleaning up at his 2018 World Cup in Russia, with the team cleaning up the changing rooms and leaving a “thank you” note.