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Japanese fans added a layer of goodwill to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when they cleaned up a stadium after a contest their team did not even compete in.
After the tournament’s opening game between Qatar and Ecuador, fans dressed in Japan’s national colours stayed behind to pick up bottles and food wrapping left in the seats.
The match followed the opening ceremony
Their classy act was captured on video by Bahraini influencer Omar Al-Farooq, who shared the clip with his 2.6 million followers on Instagram. It has been watched more than 7 million times, The New York Post reports.
When Al-Farooq asked fans what caused them to clean up the stand they responded, “We are Japanese, and we do not leave rubbish behind us, and we respect the place.”
Additionally, the Japanese fans picked up Qatari and Ecuadorian flags that had been tossed to the ground and said that the two symbols “command respect.”
The camera then panned to show more Japan fans dotted around the ground all doing the same thing. Some of the classy fans were spotted going row by row to make sure no rubbish was left behind.
Al-Farooq told his followers he was shocked to see the act happening before his eyes.
“This is a thing I heard about, but I never thought it was this real. Wow,” he said.
“All respect.”
This is not the first time Japanese fans have acted with goodwill at an international event. They did the same during the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Even after a 3-2 shootout loss to Belgium, supporters were seen picking up trash and cleaning the seats of Rostov Arena.
